Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen said on The Rich Eisen Show that it's been an awesome offseason for the team, and second-year quarterback Bryce Young just looks "more comfortable." Thielen went on to explain that Young is just more immersed in the offense heading into his second season in the NFL and that the two have gained valuable chemistry on and off the field. It was a whirlwind for Young leading up to his first NFL campaign, which couldn't have gone much worse. The 22-year-old former Alabama product is already on his second head coach in two seasons, but there's nowhere for him to go but up in 2024. The Panthers added receiver Diontae Johnson to give Young some help in the passing game. Not many fantasy football managers are going to want anything to do with Young after what they saw in 2023, but he's not a bad low-end QB2 target in superflex leagues with upside.

From RotoBaller

Carolina Panthers second-year quarterback Bryce Young, who looked lost in his rookie campaign in 2023, has impressed head coach Dave Canales at offseason workouts. Canales loves the way Young has picked up an offense that has helped Baker Mayfield, Russell Wilson and Geno Smith to career-best seasons. "He's doing fantastic with it," Canales said Monday after the first full day of voluntary workouts. "So, for us the formations are pretty vanilla so we can just teach the concept we want out of each route, the depth, the footwork we want." Young said having just Canales' voice in his ear has been "super important" after a rough rookie season in which he ranked 29th out of 30 QBs in total QBR (33.4). It will be hard for Young to be much worse in his sophomore season in 2024, and the Panthers also added some playmakers around him via the draft and trade market, but he'll still merely be a low-end QB2 with upside in fantasy leagues.

From RotoBaller

Dynasty | WR Legette, TE Sanders added to Young's arsenal Dynasty Analysis: After adding WR Xavier Legette in the first round, the Panthers selected TE Ja'Tavion Sanders in the fourth round, giving QB Bryce Young yet another athletic receiving option. Young looks to bounce back from a rough rookie season, and new head coach Dave Canales is surrounding him with talent to expedite the turnaround. Even with Diontae Johnson and Adam Thielen joining the rookies, the pass catching group still doesn't look like a finished product. But the upgrades from the likes of Jonathan Mingo, Laviska Shenault, and Tommy Tremble give Young a much more positive outlook as he tries to improve on his QB17 DLF dynasty ranking.

From Dynasty League Fantasy

The Carolina Panthers traded up with the Buffalo Bills at No. 32 overall to select South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette to close out the first round of the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday night. The Bills curiously traded down twice from their initial pick of No. 28 to land at No. 33 (first pick of Round 2) despite desperately needing receiver help, and three wideouts came off the board to close out the first round. Legette, 23, is a much-needed offensive weapon for second-year QB Bryce Young and will join Diontae Johnson, Jonathan Mingo and veteran Adam Thielen in their WR room in 2024. Legette isn't the greatest of route-runners and is susceptible to press coverage at the line, but he has excellent ball skills and could be a solid deep and red-zone threat for Young. The landing spot isn't great for Legette's potential for fantasy value in Year 1.

From RotoBaller

The Carolina Panthers want to make the 2024 draft about a larger point, rather than anything as granular as finding weapons for quarterback Bryce Young after he struggled mightily in his rookie season in 2023. "I think it's not about surrounding Bryce with great players; it's about building a great team, and then Bryce can just do his part of it," new head coach Dave Canales said. Even if the Panthers aren't specifically just looking to add weapons for Young, they'll surely need to bolster what was a terrible offensive line and running game. Carolina already traded for receiver Diontae Johnson this offseason and spent some money to upgrade the O-line. "It's not about getting playmakers for Bryce, it's about getting playmakers for our team," general manager Dan Morgan said.

From RotoBaller

Veteran free-agent center Bradley Bozeman is signing a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Chargers, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport. The former National Champion at Alabama was a sixth-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2018 and has 96 games (77 starts) of NFL experience under his belt with Baltimore and the Carolina Panthers. All-Pro center Corey Linsley was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list with a non-emergent heart-related issue last September and is likely to retire, meaning Bozeman has a path to the starting job in 2024. However, he struggled mightily to protect Bryce Young last season in Carolina, so L.A. might look to find a different starter at center in next month's NFL Draft.

From RotoBaller

Free-agent offensive guard Damien Lewis plans to sign with the Carolina Panthers in free agency this week for four years and $53 million, according to sources. The deal includes $26.2 million guaranteed. The Panthers made a serious effort to improve their offensive line in front of young quarterback Bryce Young on Monday by adding both Lewis and guard Robert Hunt, who signed a whopping five-year, $100 million contract. Lewis, who turns 27 on March 21, ranked 41st among all guards in the NFL in pass-block win rate in 2023 with the Seattle Seahawks while starting all but one game. Lewis is 32nd in the league in the same statistic among all guards over his four NFL seasons after he was taken in the third round by Seattle in 2020 out of LSU. He started at left guard the last three seasons for Seattle and has started 61 of a possible 67 regular-season games in his career, so he'll provide needed stability on the O-line for Carolina.

From RotoBaller

The Carolina Panthers agreed to terms with free-agent offensive guard Robert Hunt on a five-year, $100 million deal on Monday, according to a source. The deal includes $63 million guaranteed. It's a huge free-agent contract for Hunt, who was taken by the Miami Dolphins in the second round in 2020 out of LSU. The 27-year-old offensive lineman started 55 of the 61 games that he played in in his four seasons in South Beach, although he missed six games in 2023 due to a hamstring injury. In addition to being reliable, Hunt had at least one snap at every position on the Dolphins' offensive line except left guard during his four years with the team. He has primarily played right tackle and right guard and will head to Carolina to provide quarterback Bryce Young with more interior protection after the top pick in the 2023 draft was sacked 62 times, second-most in the NFL.

From RotoBaller

The Carolina Panthers are releasing veteran center Bradley Bozeman ahead of free agency. The former two-time National Champion at Alabama spent four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens before signing a deal to join the Panthers in 2022. He has struggled in pass protection, and the Panthers are looking to improve its offensive line after rookie Bryce Young was sacked 62 times (second-most). The Panthers save $4.36 million by making this move.

From RotoBaller

The Carolina Panthers went 2-15 last year and fired both their head coach and general manager. They have all kinds of needs this offseason, but The Athletic's Joe Person thinks that their biggest priority should be getting young quarterback Bryce Young some help in the passing game. DJ Chark Jr. ranked in the bottom 10 in the league in average separation and catch percentage, while Jonathan Mingo had the fifth-worst catch percentage (50.6) in his rookie campaign. Adam Thielen had a 1,000-yard season, but the 33-year-old can no longer stretch defenses at his age. It all caused Young to stand in the pocket waiting for someone to get open before eventually getting enveloped by the pass rush. Young has plenty to work on himself, but helping him take the next step in Year 2 will start with surrounding him with better playmakers.

From RotoBaller

Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown is meeting with the Chicago Bears on Wednesday to interview for their vacant offensive-coordinator job, according to league sources. Brown is also scheduled to interview this week for the Tennessee Titans head-coaching opening. The Bears are looking to replace Luke Getsy, who ran their offense the last two seasons. Brown went back and forth as Carolina's play-caller in his first year with the team, and they finished 2-15 as rookie quarterback Bryce Young struggled mightily. The 37-year-old Brown has had his career fast-tracked after serving as the running backs and tight ends coach under head coach Sean McVay with the Los Angeles Rams. He interviewed for the Houston Texans' head-coaching job last offseason before the job was given to DeMeco Ryans.

From RotoBaller