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The Carolina Panthers are hoping this will be the year where Bryce Young emerges as a quality NFL quarterback. And they’ve worked hard to protect him. If Young can raise the level of his play, the Panthers might surprise NFL observers. And here are three bold predictions for the 2025 NFL season.
It was a dismal year in 2024 with a record of 5-12. However, the Panthers won two of their last three games. And both of them came in high-scoring overtime contests. They must win these types of games because it gives both Young and head coach Dave Canales confidence.
But will the momentum spill over into 2025? Let’s check out the bold predictions.
He’d better improve. In two seasons, he has a career mark of 6-22. He has completed 60 percent of his passes, and his touchdown-to-interception ratio is a modest 26-to-19.
However, this will be the year where Young goes over 3,000 yards passing for the first time. And he will throw 20-plus touchdown passes with fewer than 10 interceptions.
Certainly, Canales is all-in on his young signal-caller, according to a post on X by Cameron Wolfe via bleacherreport.com.
“I don’t think there’s a ceiling for Bryce,” Canales said. “I think that, first and foremost, it’s team football, and Dan Morgan and I talk about this all the time. If we build this team right and we put Bryce into big games, big situations, big moments, he’ll come through for us. What I saw from him is just whatever the situation might have been, whoever the opponent was.
“We brought some really good teams in here with the Chiefs and the Eagles, and we played them really well. No moral victories — we lost those games, we didn’t finish well — but the moments and the situations that we put Bryce into as a team that we did collectively, he came through and he played well and he earned so much respect from his teammates and the fanbase.”
One of the reasons Young should be better is that he has a dangerous weapon on the outside. And that leads to bold prediction No. 2.
It’s not so much a shock when rookies hit this level anymore. They come into the league more ready at the wide receiver position than ever before. And McMillan is one of those guys.
Look for him to have multiple 100-yard games. Yes, there will be days when the defenses try to take him away. But with the emergence of Xavier Legette as a better target, McMillan will have his big moments.
McMillan showed up early in the preseason with a big play, according to NFL.com.
“That’s what we’re counting on. That’s why he’s here,” Canales said via a team transcript. “Stretch the field, play big, and that was a sign of good things.”
And McMillan is positive, too.
“I definitely feel like it’s...
