Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young already proving that size doesn't matter

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is already proving that size doesn't matter as some tougher challenges lie ahead for the No. 1 pick.

Bryce Young's commanding display during joint practices with the New York Jets was another massive positive for the quarterback. Especially considering the momentous occasion drew national media interest, the largest crowd in training camp history, and even HBO's Hard Knocks to document the session.

Young was clinical and came up with some outstanding throws. The Jets' defense missed All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner and pass-rusher Carl Lawson, but the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft could only beat what was in front of him - which he did with aplomb.

Perhaps more impressive was Young's pre-snap reads, checking at the line of scrimmage depending on the defensive lineup, and making sure every single member of his offense knew their assignments. These traits are more befitting of a seasoned veteran than a rookie with no competitive NFL experience.

Carolina Panthers have no concerns over Bryce Young's size

As it turned out, bad weather meant this was also Young's final session of camp. And Joe Person of The Athletic put together some unofficial statistics that outline just how good the Alabama product was throughout a challenging few weeks in the Spartanburg heat.

While keeping track of camp stats isn't recommended and is pretty worthless all things considered, one thing stood out from Person's tweet.

Two batted passes.

This was the primary concern surrounding Young during his pre-draft evaluations. Would the height and frame cause complications against grown NFL defenders who'll be craving to wipe him out any chance they get?

It's never bothered Young before and it appears complications are being kept to a minimum in a professional environment. The Heisman Trophy winner is seeing the field well and uses unusual arm angles to get the football where it needs to go with supreme efficiency.

Of course, Young hasn't dealt with any live fire as yet. That will arrive in a limited capacity during preseason games before Week 1 at the Atlanta Falcons gets here.

But it's so far, so good.

This was also a subject brought up by quarterbacks' coach Josh McCown recently, who hadn't seen anything to concern whatsoever based on his comments via The Athletic.

"We don’t feel it out here. He makes throws. He throws the ball over the middle. We don’t feel like the ball’s getting tipped any different than any other quarterback. When we looked at the tape, (his size) was obviously a part of it. But it’s more a part of it because of the nature of our league. It just goes a certain way. That’s kind of the way of the world. We fall into certain stereotypes and we just say, this is what this should look like. When you do that, you cut yourself off of some great possibilities. So we wanted to keep an open mind. As we go through this thing, I think we’re gonna feel good about the fact that we kept an open mind and we didn’t say, OK, well, he doesn’t meet this so he’s out. "

- Josh McCown via The Athletic

Young is going to face tougher tests and things won't go all his own way during the campaign. But any struggles are unlikely to be due to size unless a thumping hit takes out the signal-caller for an extended period.

That would be nothing short of disastrous for the Panthers and Young. Thankfully, the player rarely puts himself in harm's way, knows how to recognize pressure and react quickly, and removes any semblance of doubt from his mind when setbacks do arrive.

This is the hallmark of a great NFL quarterback. Something the Panthers are banking on Young becoming after sacrificing a significant amount to surge up to the draft's top spot.

Young isn't the prototypical size for an NFL quarterback and is never going to be. But that doesn't look like it's going to be a problem for someone with the world at his feet.