Bryce Young Benched: The Dynasty Fantasy Football Impact
On March 10, 2023, the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers made a truly historic trade. The Bears traded the top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and received Carolina’s first-round selection at No. 9 (they subsequently traded down to take Darnell Wright), a late-second-round pick (this pick was used to trade up for Tyrique Stevenson), a 2024 first-round selection (this ended up being the top overall pick, USC and now starting Bears quarterback Caleb Williams), a 2025 second-round pick and wide receiver DJ Moore in exchange. The Panthers famously used the #1 overall pick on Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, effectively putting all their eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, syrup and any other breakfast food in one basket. Just 18 months later, Young has been benched by the Panthers in favor of veteran Andy Dalton as his epic struggles have intensified this season. While the story hasn’t completely been written, this has massive dynasty ramifications.
Let’s look at the players involved.
Bryce Young, QB CAR
Oh boy.
Young has truly been an abject disaster during him time at Carolina. It’s shocking after how well he played at Alabama. During his time with the Crimson Tide, Young threw for a whopping 8,356 yards, with 80 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions on a completion percentage of nearly 66%. In short, he was flat-out dominant. He was clearly the highest ranked quarterback of the 2023 class, looking better as a prospect than CJ Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Will Levis, Hendon Hooker or anyone else just one year ago. When Carolina took him with the top overall pick, nobody really questioned it.
Unfortunately, Young’s career with the Panthers has been truly abysmal. In 18 total starts through two seasons, Young has completed under 60% of his throws (on a truly anemic 5.4 yards per attempt), for 3,122 yards with just 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. His QBR last year was 34.1, good for next-to-last in the league, ahead of only Jets quarterback Zach Wilson and that should tell you everything you need to know.
This season brought renewed expectations and hope for Young as he apparently had a fantastic off-season. It simply has not translated to the field, however. Through two starts, Young has thrown for just 245 scoreless yards, completing just 55.4% of his passes with no touchdowns and three interceptions. His QBR this season is 8.9, which is lower than rookie Caleb Williams (23.9). uber-conservative Justin Fields (45.9) and a journeyman player like Sam Darnold (71.2). In fact, his rating is dead last by nearly fifteen percentage points – a margin that’s nearly impossible to achieve. In short, he’s been worse. By a lot.
The Panthers are likely giving Young a few weeks off to reset his mind and spirit. It’s hard to see them benching him permanently, but a lot of that is going to depend on how Andy Dalton plays in his place. If Dalton re-ignites this offense and they start winning games, this is going to be a career-defining indictment on Young. Considering the price they paid to get him, Carolina is clearly having major buyer’s remorse and potentially pushing the reset button for the entire franchise. In the end, Young’s dynasty value has now cratered to next to nothing and his future with the Panthers and in the NFL is honestly in question. To make matters worse, CJ Stroud looks like an absolute superstar and the player they certainly should have taken at this point.
Andy Dalton, QB CAR
The Red Rifle is back! The longtime pre-Joe Burrow Bengal franchise savior is back in the saddle for an NFL franchise after stops with Dallas, Chicago, and New Orleans prior to the last two seasons with Carolina. At this point, we know what to expect from Dalton – he could be great or he could be terrible on a week-to-week basis. However, unlike Young, he’s had those short-term bouts of being great. While his dynasty candle has long since burned out, Dalton could be a solid dynasty roster candidate as a short-term QB2 or bye week fill-in as he steps in for Young. If he plays well, it’s hard to see the Panthers giving the job back to Young this season. It’s ironic, but you have to wonder what the Panthers honestly even want to see with Dalton. If he plays well, it makes Young look even worse. If he fails, perhaps it’s not all Young’s fault. Stay tuned.
Diontae Johnson, WR CAR
It can’t get worse. It just can’t. Through two games, the signature acquisition for the Panthers this off-season has a total of five catches for 34 yards on 12 targets. If you calculate that over an entire season, Johnson is on pace for 43 catches, 289 receiving yards and no touchdowns. For a player of his caliber, that’s simply unacceptable. We’re going to need to see something from Dalton for a week or two before recommending Johnson as a lineup mainstay but at least there’s some hope tonight – something there clearly wasn’t with Young at the helm thus far.
Adam Thielen, WR CAR
The fact Thielen was somehow able to post a 103/1,014/4 season last year with Young at quarterback is truly a testament to how good the 34-year old Thielen really is. The problem is this season has not started off well as Thielen now has just five catches for 69 scoreless yards through two games. He was also very animated this week as he showed the first real signs of frustration after he was repeatedly missed while open on routes. This move also can’t be bad for Thielen, who could quickly move back into WR2/3 territory with some capability at quarterback.
Jonathan Mingo, WR CAR
After a 43/418/0 rookie season, we really still don’t know what the Panthers (and dynasty managers) have in Mingo. So far this year, he has just three catches for 41 yards in two games. However, much like the others, it hardly seems like his fault. Mingo is going to remain a dynasty hold and we may now have a good opportunity to at least see if he’s worth being a hold beyond this season.
Xavier Legette, WR CAR
After four catches for 35 yards in the opener, Legette was held without a catch in week two. Again (and much like Mingo), we just don’t know what we have with him because of the ineptness of the offense the first two weeks. Legette should now have himself a decent opportunity to emerge in the coming weeks. He looks like a solid buy low candidate in dynasty leagues early on this season.
The Rest of the Carolina Offense
This includes Chuba Hubbard, Tommy Tremble, Ja’Tavion Sanders, David Moore, and Jonathon Brooks, among others. It’s hard to see Dalton vaulting all of these players into relevance but it’s also hard to see any of them being worse. Brooks needs to get back and that should help everything in the offense. At this point, this entire group needs to stay on fantasy benches until we see just how effective or ineffective Dalton can be moving forward.
Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
- Lineup Advice: Playoff Time - December 19, 2024
- The Dynasty Aftermath: Trades Gone Wrong - December 18, 2024
- Lineup Advice: Week 15 - December 15, 2024
