3 Landing Spots For Former No. 1 Player

The Carolina Panthers and Bryce Young don’t seem to be a good fit. They selected him with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft a year ago, but he hasn’t looked at all what was expected.

In 21 games, Young threw for 3,400 yards, 13 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. That includes the 523 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions he threw in 2024, both before and after he was benched.

When Carolina benched him, it seemed like they were waving a white flag that they had made a mistake with their top pick. The likely problem here is a combination of Young not being as good as advertised with the fact that he simply needs a fresh start in a new organization with new coaches. The Panthers set him up for failure and he failed miserably.

There are plenty of teams that would love to get the former No. 1 overall pick on the cheap. But which of these teams are the top three destinations for the former top NFL draft pick?

As for the Cleveland Browns, there were rumors throughout the first half of the season about what the problem was with the offense. The crime was terrible. They were the only team not to score 20 points in a game in Week 7, and much of the blame was placed on $200 million-plus quarterback Deshaun Watson. But there was speculation as to whether the problem was Watson, the skill of the players, the offensive line or the play call. Obviously, the true answer is some combination of all factors.

But when Watson tore his Achilles tendon, Jameis Winston stepped in and quickly showed that the big problem in the offense was Watson all along. Winston led the Air Raid and had his best offensive performance of the season in a Week 8 upset of the AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens.

Now that everyone knows Watson was the problem, the Browns should try to move on from him. If they can acquire a young quarterback with as much potential and a cheap contract as Bryce Young, they should do it. The capital it would take to acquire Young is also relatively cheap.

Young is available and the Browns could try to acquire him. Acquiring Young would mean Cleveland could use all of its top players in the draft to draft players around him rather than using a first-round pick on a quarterback. Instead of selecting, say, Sheader Sanders, the Browns could use that pick on Michigan quarterback Will Johnson to make their defense even more fearsome.

When they drafted Will Levis last year, the Tennessee Titans thought they had the quarterback of the future, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. During his NFL career, Levis did nothing but wrestle.

Through 14 games, Levis has thrown for 2,507 yards, 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, but his production has gradually declined from last year. He has thrown an interception in every game this year, with two interceptions in two different games.

The Titans could bring in Bryce Young as an addition to their cornerback room. Adding Young to a QB lineup that currently features Mason Rudolph and Levis would be one of the best moves Tennessee could make this season.

I understand that Bryce Young and Levis were drafted in the same class and went through similar struggles. The idea wouldn’t be to hand Young the job on a silver platter. That would mean setting up a quarterback competition between two young men who, in the right situation, could be useful signal-callers.

Wherever Young goes, he gets the fresh start he needs. This doesn’t guarantee that he will succeed, but it will definitely help him a lot.

The New York Jets have done everything in their power to create the ideal situation around the quarterback. New York has a pair of star wide receivers, as well as a solid tight end and one of the best young running backs in the game. They also have a stellar defense that is capable of dominating and keeping them in games. Their quarterback situation is 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers, who is trying to recover from a torn Achilles tendon last year. Rogers is showing signs of life, but for the most part he appears slow and exhausted.

The Jets will not have a quarterback going forward in case Rodgers decides to retire. Whether it’s at the end of this season, next season or a few years from now, New York is without a young signal-caller.

The Jets could use one of their picks on day two or three of the upcoming NFL Draft to acquire Bryce Young from the Carolina Panthers. Young could remain behind Rodgers for the rest of the year, and possibly behind him again next year. But he will learn. Young still has incredible potential, and if he were placed in the Jets offense, there would be a much better chance he would play closer to the top pick everyone expected him to be.