Panthers' Bryce Young is off to a hot start in 2026. Is it real or a mirage?

We watched all 80 of Young’s dropbacks so far this season to see if Young can continue his hot streak or if this is just an outlier

Through the first two games of this year, Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young has completed 46 of 73 passes (63.0%) for 648 yards (8.9 per attempt), six touchdowns and one interception. The six passing touchdowns are tied for the league lead, and the 648 yards are second to only Tyler Shough. Young ranks sixth in the NFL in passer rating, seventh in ESPN's QBR and sixth in Pro Football Focus' passing grades. He also checks in seventh in the league in EPA per dropback, according to TruMedia, and seventh in completion percentage over expected, per NFL.com's Next Gen Stats. Those numbers are all a far cry from what we've seen from Young through the first three years of his career, when he showed occasional flashes but largely struggled.

Because this performance looks like such an outlier compared with the rest of his career, it's worth asking how real it really is. After digging into the film and watching all 80 of Young's dropbacks this season, I can say with a pretty high degree of confidence that the numbers reflect how well he's playing. For the most part, he is balling out there. Has he missed a few throws he should make? He sure has. He's still completing only 63% of his passes despite the hot start (partly because of a