July 5, 2026, 1:30 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
The top piece of the Carolina Panthers<\/a>‘ roster, at least according to one analyst, is under center.<\/p>\n Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report recently named<\/a> the most promising building block for every NFL team heading into the 2026 season. For the Panthers, he highlights quarterback Bryce Young\u2014who showed some notable improvement coming out of his third pro campaign:<\/p>\n The first overall pick in the 2023 draft, Bryce Young was expected to quickly address the Carolina Panthers’ need for a long-term quarterback. While he hasn’t quite established himself as a true franchise quarterback just yet, Young has shown himself to be a very promising building block.<\/p>\n The Alabama product took a massive step forward in 2025, finishing with a career-best 87.8 quarterback rating and leading Carolina to an NFC South title. While he clearly has room for continued development, he showed enough promise this past season to land on the\u00a0NFL’s Top 100\u00a0list.<\/p>\n Young could be in store for another jump in Year 4.<\/p>\n In addition to that quarterback rating, the 24-year-old Young passed for career-highs in yards (3,011) and touchdowns (23) in 2025. His efforts helped push Carolina to that division crown<\/a> and, as noted by Knox, landed him at the 98th spot<\/a> on the NFL Top 100.<\/p>\n Thanks to the work of general manager Dan Morgan and his front office, Young isn’t the only promising building block the Panthers have in place. The roster also features 2025 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan and Pro Bowl defenders Derrick Brown and Jaycee Horn.<\/p>\n Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n