The New Incoming  Carolina Coach Like  Bryce Young To Put His Foot Down…

New Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales plans to tailor the NFL team’s offense to quarterback Bryce Young. And the first step in the process, as with any step, starts with the feet – in this case, Young’s.

“We’re going to become the concepts where Bryce looks most confident,” Canales said during an appearance on NFL Network while attending the NFL’s annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. “And how do you tell that? Look at the firmness of the back foot on the delivery. Whether it’s a plant throw or one-hitch, there’s just this really solid look and an aggression just exploding off that back foot.

“You see it all across the league. You see those anticipatory throws. Well, these are concepts that these guys love. We’ll start to hone in on some of those, but we’re going to have to throw a lot at him to kind of discover those.”

The 2021 Heisman Trophy winner, Young joined the Panthers from Alabama as the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. In Young’s rookie season, Carolina had the fewest points and the fewest yards of any offense in the NFL on its way to a 2-15 record.

After 11 games, Young got a new coach when the Panthers fired Frank Reich. Special-teams coordinator Chris Tabor held the reins for the rest of the campaign.

In January, Carolina brought in Canales, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator, as its coach for 2024.

Canales has coached Russell Wilson, Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield during Pro Bowl seasons. He said Young would follow the preparation plan that buoyed the performances of those quarterbacks.

“We talked about the footwork part, right?” Canales said. “That’s every year, every quarterback, we go right back to the basics. We start with the stance under center. We balance the feet, get your left foot into the instep of the right. My chest is up, my eyes are up so I can see every part of the field. We take it from that basic starting point, regardless of how many years a quarterback’s been in there.

“Then we start to build the drop. Then we build the footwork. And then specifically what you’re seeing, we look at the concept and say: How can we make this footwork intelligent to this concept? Because if you watch, most quarterback footwork, they take about three steps from the gun. But there’s all kinds of three-step drops from the gun, and that’s the part where you start to grow. What kind of three-step drop? How many hitches? Is it one? Is it plant? Building his library with that type of inventory within the drops.

“And also, how much can we eliminate presnap so that he can play with an anticipation and say: OK, I can eliminate the first progression because this coverage or that, now I can start on two to get to three. Because you really don’t have a lot of time down in and down out to go one, two, three consistently. Sometimes you got to go: One’s not there; start with two to three, and then kind of on your way.”

The Panthers start their offseason program on April 8.

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3 sleeper prospects Panthers must target in 2024 NFL Draft

The Carolina Panthers have done great work so far in the 2024 offseason. Carolina has spent on improvements to avoid a repeat of their disastrous 2023 season that saw them win just two games. The 2024 NFL Draft will be the next avenue to add talent to the roster.

The Panthers traded for former Pittsburgh Steeler wide receiver Diontae Johnson as well as paying up for guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis. They recently signed journeyman pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney to a two-year $23 million deal as well.

Things are looking up for the Panthers with new head coach Dave Canales in charge. It would be better if they had their first-round pick at their disposal, but they traded that to the Chicago Bears a year ago. That’s very unfortunate, but not a death knell.

They still have four picks in the 2024 NFL Draft from round two through round four, with all but one of those being at the front of those rounds. Carolina can find some sleepers with those selections. Players like Texas’ Adonai Mitchell, Ohio State’s Cade Stover, and Florida State’s Trey Benson fit that billing.

Adonai Mitchell is arguably the biggest question of the entire wide receiver class. The numbers don’t love him. He also doesn’t have a season with at least 1,000 yards. Not great. But he can also do stuff like this.

Mitchell’s career never took off in Georgia for a variety of reasons. The Bulldogs had a ton of weapons to spread the ball around and were often winning by so much that they couldn’t allow everyone to eat. That applied with Mitchell, who had just 38 receptions for 560 yards and seven touchdowns in Athens.

He then transferred to Texas where he got more playing time and opportunities to make plays. Mitchell took that and turned it into his best collegiate season. He put up 55 receptions for 845 yards and 11 scores, including one in the Longhorns’ College Football Playoff loss to the Washington Huskies.

Mitchell still didn’t put up the biggest numbers of Austin playing alongside other future pros in Xavier Worthy and Ja’Tavion Sanders. But he showcased the skills of a true outside NFL receiver who can make plays down the field, which is something the Panthers need.

Trading for Johnson will help, and while he can win down the field, he specializes in winning in the short to intermediate area of the field. Adam Thielen got off to a hot start in the slot but cooled off.

Carolina badly needs an outside receiver who can win with physicality and make plays down the field and in the red zone. Jonathan Mingo was supposed to be that guy, but he had a poor rookie season trying to become that player. The Panthers can try again with Mitchell. He has the goods to fit well with Johnson and Thielen.

The Panthers also could really use a tight end. Last season, they got just 58 receptions and 559 yards from that position across *four* different players (Tommy Tremble, Hayden Hurst, Stephen Sullivan, and Ian Thomas). Carolina really hasn’t had a true answer at that position since Greg Olsen left the franchise.

Cade Stover could be that guy. Stover initially shined as CJ Stroud’s security blanket at Ohio State and continued the stellar play last season with Kyle McCord. He set career-highs in receptions (41) and receiving yards (576) while scoring five times. His athletic testing has also shined during draft season.

Tight end is a big position of need for Carolina. Stover can be a guy that can fill that void that the Panthers can perhaps snag with a Day 3 selection.

Trey Benson, Running Back, Florida State

Chuba Hubbard had a solid season for the Panthers last year, but he is entering the final year of his deal and averaged just 3.8 yards per carry. They could use an upgrade there. Enter Trey Benson, who tested out as a near Breece Hall clone at the NFL Combine.