Panthers news: Cam Newton, Nicole Tepper, Josh McCown and Derrick Brown

Insider makes bold Nicole Tepper claim

Much has been made about Bryce Young's underwhelming rookie campaign. There wasn't much to inspire hope for the future. The Carolina Panthers also did an abysmal job of providing the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft with the environment needed to thrive immediately.

Young's turbulent season was made worse by C.J. Stroud's phenomenal year with the Houston Texans. He looks like the real deal. He was also set up to succeed by DeMeco Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio. That was not the case where his close friend was concerned.

Adam Schefter of ESPN knows more than most about the goings-on around the NFL. He revealed recently that he likes to remind team owner David Tepper that his wife Nicole preferred Stroud during the pre-draft assessment process based on comments via The Spun.

"If you're the Panthers and you made that trade… and - I like to tease the owner - his wife was a big C.J. Stroud person. She likes C.J. Stroud."

- Adam Schefter via The Spun

This might be true, but it means absolutely nothing. The Panthers weren't going to let the owner's wife make the pick. She probably wasn't alone in liking Stroud better within the building, but everyone seems to forget that Young was almost a consensus choice atop the draft. Anyone who says otherwise is altering the past for their agendas.

It's time for everyone associated with the Panthers to get behind Young. After all, there's just no telling how far it'll set the franchise back if he cannot raise his performance levels.

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