Panthers WR Adam Thielen on Bryce Young’s rookie year: ‘Everything was stacked against him’
It’s clear that Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young wasn’t dealt the greatest of hands during his rookie season—and another one of his teammates has laid those cards out on the table.
Wideout Adam Thielen was featured as a guest on Wednesday’s episode of Good Morning Football. After talking about some new faces in head coach Dave Canales and fellow receiver Diontae Johnson, the 10-year veteran was asked what he learned about Young in 2023.
“Yeah, well, I’ll say this—I think everything was stacked against him last year,” Thielen replied. “And I’m not gonna get into detail as to why that was, but I’m just really excited for him to have a fresh start, an ability to just have a good coaching staff that’s gonna put a good plan together to help him be successful, and also to put people around him to help him be successful.
“So with that being said, I think what he really showed is his maturity over the year. I think his ability at times to just be very honest in front of the room and say, ‘Hey, this is what I’m not doing very well and this is what I need to get better at and please hold me accountable,’ I thought was really impressive for a young guy.”
The young guy didn’t end up turning in a campaign worthy of the No. 1 overall selection that was used on him. He passed for just 179.8 yards per game and threw 11 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.
Again, Thielen isn’t the first of Young’s pass catchers to allude to the unfavorable circumstances. New Los Angeles Chargers tight end Hayden Hurst, who spent the year in Carolina, told reporters after the season that Young had too many voices in his ear.
He also had to deal with receivers who struggled to gain separation, a bruised and battered offensive line and multiple changes at the play-calling position between head coach Frank Reich and offensive coordinator Thomas Brown.
Now, it feels as though Young, Thielen and the rest of the Panthers offense will be listening to one voice—or at least one common vision.
