We'll see which version of Cleveland's defense shows up in Week 3, but the Browns allowed Trevor Lawrence to score 33.8 Fantasy points in Week 1, while Baker Mayfield was limited to 14.2 Fantasy points in Week 2. I don't think Cleveland will stop Young, who is hot right now with at least 30.1 Fantasy points in each of his first two games against Chicago and Atlanta. Young has now scored at least 20.5 Fantasy points in seven of his past 10 games going back to last season, including the playoffs, and he should be considered a low-end starter in all leagues for Week 3 against the Browns.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Week 3 Waiver Priority List
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Young was again awesome in Week 2 at Atlanta with 30.1 Fantasy points, which came after scoring 37.4 points in Week 1 against Chicago. He has now scored at least 20.5 Fantasy points in seven of his past 10 games going back to last season, including the playoffs, and he should be considered a low-end starter in all leagues for Week 3 at Cleveland. Young is worth adding in all leagues for at least 5 percent of your remaining FAAB.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Crisp multi-TD performance in win
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Young completed 23 of 36 passes for 287 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions and added one carry for six yards in the Panthers' 34-3 win over the Falcons on Sunday.
The Panthers weren't particularly threatened by the Falcons at any point Sunday, so Young's robust passing yardage total was particularly noteworthy in that context. The 2023 first overall pick posted a second straight three-touchdown performance to open the season, connecting with Chuba Hubbard (three yards) and Darren Waller (seven, 12 yards) for his trio of scoring tosses. Young hooked up with eight different targets overall on the afternoon, and with 648 passing yards and six touchdowns versus one interception through the first pair of contests, he's clicking on all cylinders heading into a Week 3 road matchup against the Browns.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Sleeper QBs
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The last two times Young went to Atlanta he combined for 699 passing yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions and six carries for 23 yards and two touchdowns. He scored at least 37.8 Fantasy points in each outing. Young just scored 37.4 Fantasy points in Week 1 against Chicago and is worth using as a starter in deeper leagues.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Week 2 Waiver Priority List
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Young got off to a great start against the Bears in Week 1 with 361 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception, and he added 10 rushing yards and a touchdown. We shouldn't expect 37.4 Fantasy points on a weekly basis, but he's now scored at least 20.5 Fantasy points in six of his past nine games going back to last season, including the playoffs. He has a solid receiving corps now with Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker, and Young might be a surprise Fantasy quarterback in 2026. He's worth adding for 1 percent of your remaining FAAB.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Produces four TDs in Week 1 loss
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Young completed 23 of 37 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in Sunday's 59-37 loss to the Bears. He added 10 yards and a TD on two carries.
In the highest-scoring Week 1 contest in NFL history, Young did his part to try and keep Carolina in the game, but his defense couldn't slow down Chicago's ground game. The fourth-year QB tossed one score to Chuba Hubbard in the first quarter and two to Jalen Coker in the second and fourth while also running one in himself from seven yards out in the second quarter. Young accounted for a career-high 25 touchdowns (23 through the air, two on the ground) in the 2025 regular season, and he's off to a flying start in the quest to top that number this season. He'll look to stay sharp in Week 2 on the road against the Falcons.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Working with new play caller
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Young will be working with a new play caller in 2026 with offensive coordinator Brad Idzik taking those duties from head coach Dave Canales, Mike Kaye of ESPN.com reports.
Idzik is entering his third year as the Panthers' OC, and the switch in play callers has been described by Young as "aggressive, which is huge for us." The results in two preseason contests were tepid, to say the least, as Young completed eight of 11 passes for 67 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions while directing four drives. Having dynamic second-year WR Tetairoa McMillan at his disposal will help matters once the games begin to count Week 1, but the rest of the skill-position group leaves something to be desired.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Leads scoring drive in preseason win
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Young completed five of six passes for 49 yards in Friday's 34-17 preseason win over the Jaguars.
The Panthers played their starters for the first quarter while their opposition didn't, and it paid off when Young led a scoring drive on his second and final possession, capped by a one-yard TD plunge by Jonathon Brooks. That could be Young's last tune-up of the preseason, as Carolina plays one more exhibition game next Friday against Houston before turning its attention to Week 1 and the Bears.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Little production in preseason loss
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Young completed three of five passes for 18 yards in Saturday's 29-14 preseason loss to the Bills.
The fourth-year QB got the start and played into the second quarter after sitting out the Panthers' preseason opener last week in the Hall of Fame Game, but the offense couldn't get much going as all three of Young's possessions ended in punts. The 2023 first overall pick has yet to prove he can be a franchise quarterback in the NFL, or even a reliable fantasy option, but Young did take a small step forward in 2025 by setting career highs in completion rate (63.6 percent), passing yards (3,011) and passing TDs (23) over 16 regular-season games.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Will play in preseason opener
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Head coach Dave Canales told reporters Sunday that Young and the Panthers starters will play in Saturday's preseason opener against the Bills, Kassidy Hill of the team's official site reports.
Canales added that the starters will get about 10-to-20 reps in Buffalo. Young, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, is coming off the best year of his three-year career. Across 17 regular-season games in 2025, he completed 63.6 percent of his passes for 3,011 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while adding 216 yards and two scores on 54 carries. The fifth-year option on Young's rookie contract was picked up for the 2027 season, and it looks like any contract negotiations between the 25-year-old quarterback and the Panthers won't take place until after the 2026 campaign.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Contract option picked up
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The Panthers have officially exercised the fifth-year option on Young's rookie contract, Darin Gantt of the team's official site reports.
The anticipated move will keep the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft under contract with Carolina through the 2027 season. The 24-year-old is coming off a career year in 2025, during which he set new highs in passing yards (3,011), TDs (23), completion percentage (63.6) and passer rating (87.8), among other other categories, over the course of 16 regular-season contests. Since then, the Panthers signed Kenny Pickett to back up Young and added deep threat Chris Brazzell in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, providing Young a player with upside to fortify a WR corps that returns Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Fifth-year option getting picked up
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General manager Dan Morgan announced Tuesday that Carolina plans to exercise the 2027 team option on Young's contract this offseason, Darin Gantt of the Panthers' official site reports.
Young's fifth-year option is projected to come in at around $26.5 million and will be fully guaranteed. While the Panthers' willingness to pick up the option represents some level of commitment to the 24-year-old signal-caller, Young may need to make more dramatic strides in 2026 in order to land a long-term extension. He showed some modest improvement in Year 3, leading an 8-9 Panthers squad to its first NFC South title in a decade while directing six game-winning drives. Young completed 304 of 478 pass attempts for 3,011 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions to go with 216 yards and two scores on 54 carries over 16 starts during the regular season. A respectable showing against the heavily favored Rams in the wild-card round this past weekend will also be a confidence booster for the QB heading into 2026.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Valiant effort in loss
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Young completed 21 of 40 passes for 264 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Saturday's 34-31 wild-card loss to the Rams. He added three rushes for 24 yards and an additional score.
The Panthers have tried to hide Young for significant stretches of the season, relying on a particularly run-heavy offense. However, the game plan was more aggressive Saturday, as he reached 40 pass attempts for only the third time in 17 total games this season. Young showed particular rapport down the field with Jalen Coker, connecting for gains of 52 and 37 yards. He also scrambled for a 16-yard touchdown just before halftime while delivering a seven-yard passing score to Coker to take the lead late in the fourth quarter. While Young's performance has been volatile throughout the early portions of his career, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Saturday morning that the Panthers are expected to pick up Young's fifth-year option this offseason. That makes it very likely that he will enter the 2026 season as Carolina's starting quarterback.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Solid numbers in loss
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Young completed 24 of 35 passes for 266 yards with two touchdowns and one interception and rushed twice for minus-1 yard in the Panthers' 16-14 loss to the Buccaneers on Saturday. He also committed a fumble recovered by Carolina.
Young finished with an exponentially more aesthetic stat line than in his forgettable 54-yard performance against the Seahawks in a Week 17 loss, but the end result was still the same for his team. The third-year signal-caller spread the ball around plenty, connecting with nine different targets. Young hit Tommy Tremble and Jalen Coker for his pair of eight-yard scoring tosses, while his one interception came on the first play after the two-minute warning in the first half at Tampa Bay's 42-yard line and led to a Bucs field goal. Young's passing yardage total was his second highest since Week 3, and he wraps up the 2025 regular season with career highs in completion percentage (63.6), passing yardage (3,011), touchdown passes (23) and interceptions (11) across 16 games. Young and his teammates will pull for the Falcons to defeat the Saints on Sunday and make the Panthers the NFC South champions in the process, thereby allowing them to continue their season in next weekend's wild-card round.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Sleeper QBs
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Young is worth using as a low-end starter in all leagues in Week 18 against Tampa Bay. Eight quarterbacks in a row have scored at least 19.8 Fantasy points against the Buccaneers, including Young in Week 16 with 21.6 points. He should rebound from his miserable performance in Week 17 against Seattle with 54 passing yards, no touchdowns and an interception, and he ran for 27 yards and a touchdown for 8.9 Fantasy points. There's always the chance the run game for Carolina is dominant, which means Young won't do much. But I would trust Young in deeper formats given the track record of quarterbacks against Tampa Bay prior to Week 18.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Week 18 Waiver Priority List
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Young was miserable in Week 17 against Seattle with 54 passing yards, no touchdowns and an interception, and he ran for 27 yards and a touchdown for 8.9 Fantasy points. But in Week 16 against Tampa Bay, Young scored 21.6 Fantasy points, and he could reach that level of production again in the rematch. Eight quarterbacks in a row have scored at least 19.8 Fantasy points against the Buccaneers, and Young is worth using as a low-end starter in all leagues.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Shuts down by Seattle defense
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Young completed 14 of 24 passes for 54 yards and an interception in Sunday's 27-10 loss to the Seahawks. He added 27 rushing yards and a touchdown on nine carries.
The third-year QB was completely flummoxed through the air by the Seattle defense, setting a season low for passing yards, but Young salvaged some fantasy value with a 10-yard TD dash in the fourth quarter. Young will take a 21:10 TD:INT on the year, plus two rushing scores, into a Week 18 clash with the Buccaneers, with the NFC South title and a playoff spot on the line with a Carolina win. Note that the Panthers can also win the division if the Falcons win their next two games, no matter what Carolina does in the finale.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Week 17 Waiver Priority List
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Young did well against Tampa Bay in Week 16 with 21.6 Fantasy points, and he's now reached that total in three of his past five outings. He doesn't have an easy matchup in Week 17 against Seattle, but the Seahawks are banged up on defense, notably with defensive back Coby Bryant (knee) and linebacker Derick Hall (suspended) out. Young is worth using in deeper leagues in Week 17.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Leads key division win
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Young completed 21 of 32 passes for 191 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions while adding four rushes for 20 yards in the Panthers' 23-20 win over the Buccaneers on Sunday.
Young turned in a relatively efficient effort in the grindy division win, and most important, he avoided any turnovers for the third straight game. The 2023 first overall pick connected with Tetairoa McMillan (22 yards) and Ja'Tavion Sanders (six yards) for his pair of scoring passes late in the second and third quarters, respectively, and he led a late seven-play, 43-yard drive that culminated in what would turn out to be the game-winning field goal. Young and the Panthers draw a tough Week 17 assignment, however, as the Seahawks drop in for a visit next Sunday afternoon.
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Panthers' Bryce Young: Sleeper QBs
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We never know which version of Young is going to show up on a weekly basis, especially if Carolina's running game is having a dominant performance. That could happen in Week 16 against Tampa Bay, which bodes well for Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard. That said, the Buccaneers pass defense has been awful for most of the season, and Young is worth taking a chance on as a low-end starter in deeper leagues. Tampa Bay is No. 5 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks, and six quarterbacks in a row have scored at least 21.2 Fantasy points against the Buccaneers. Young has scored more than 18 Fantasy points just twice in his past seven games, but he has the chance to help managers in deeper leagues given this matchup in Week 16.
