Big Picture: Inside Panthers HC Dave Canales' Approach to Developing QB Bryce Young

INDIANAPOLIS — It has been about a month since quarterback Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers nearly upset the Los Angeles Rams in the first round of the playoffs. It has been a couple of months since the Panthers decided to pick up Young’s fifth-year option. It has been about a year and a half since the Panthers benched Young. That might seem like a chaotic timeframe for Young and his head coach, but that’s not how Dave Canales sees it. Sitting with me on the second floor of a hotel in downtown Indianapolis — with agents, head coaches and future NFL players buzzing around — Canales calmly laid out how he and his quarterback have engineered this ascent. The Panthers rose from 5-12 in 2024 to NFC South champions last season. Meanwhile, Young emerged from a seemingly failed No. 1 overall draft pick in 2023 to career highs in passing yards (3,011), touchdowns (23) and completion percentage (63.6%) in 2025. "I had never lost confidence in Bryce, the guy," Canales told me. "We're all in the same boat. So there's a lot of grace and empathy that goes across the board for all of us really just becoming this thing." It has a lot to do with shared experiences — a third-year QB, a second-year coach, a second-year GM in Dan Morgan and a gang of young players (from Offensive Rookie of the Year receiver Tetairoa McMillan to standout rookie edge Nic Scourton) who were ahead of schedule in their development in 2025. Everyone makes mistakes when they’re trying to grow. What matters most is that they grow. But back in 2024, when the Panthers decided to bench Young two games into the season, the team could’ve decided to reset at quarterback. Canales inherited Young, and some new coaches say they’re committed to the incumbent quarterback but then ditch him at the first sign of trouble. It’s why some (including me) thought the Panthers might move on from Young. But rather than banish yet another young quarterback — like the Panthers did with Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, who remade themselves elsewhere — Canales remained committed to his plan and vision for Young. That plan included Young watching and learning from veteran quarterback Andy Dalton, who took over the Carolina offense for five starts in 2024. "There was an emotional strain. I could feel that," Canales said of his relationship with Young. "I know because it was a hard decision. I know Bryce could feel that because of how this impacted him directly, and everybody else can feel it. It's like, ‘Oh, this seems like a big deal.’ But it's like, ‘OK, this is the decision that was made. But how do we get better today?’ And so there's, like, a daily focus on improvement. Bryce is wired that way. "He never wavered on that part, so that when his opportunity came back, he was that much better." That’s a huge credit to Young’s work ethic. The team didn’t quit on him. He didn’t quit on himself. He kept working behind the scenes to better understand Canales’ system — and to see how Dalton worked to win games during the week and on Sundays. The Panthers never entertained trade offers for Young, Canales told me. The coach heard the critics who didn’t agree with the way the Panthers handled the situation, but they focused on what was best for their team and for Young. "What's the next step? What's the next step for him?" Canales remembered asking himself. "Let's stay on track with that, because over time, if that's our focus, we'll build something really cool. And that's what he's done. He just continues to stack lessons." During Young's benching, he and Canales were sitting in a meeting room talking through a concept. Canales asked about a specific formation against a specific defensive look. "What do you like right here?" Canales asked Young. "I want to get into this," Young said, speaking to a specific play. "Do it," Canales replied. In Week 8, Young was back on the field, and he put together a string of outstanding games to finish the 2024 season. And then in 2025, in addition to his counting stats, his advanced metrics showed improvement, too. His EPA per dropback was -.08, and a 42.6% success rate, per Next Gen Stats. Those aren’t exactly face-of-the-franchise numbers, but it was enough for a fifth-year option. Now, Canales keeps asking himself: What’s the next step? Young’s progress has been linear — when you zoom out — but it has come with setbacks. That’s just the nature of quarterback development. Young must continue his upward trend. "If this thing comes to a crescendo, which I believe it will, if Bryce goes where I think he's going to go this year and continues to improve … we're going to have to make that [contract] decision," Canales told me. "And I want to make sure, organizationally, or from a roster standpoint, we are in a position to say, ‘OK, let's go.’" The plan for 2026 is to continue building around Young, based on Canales and Morgan’s core tenets. Draft well and get those rookies on the field as early as possible. Sign free agents — roughly 25 to 27 years old — who can contribute for the long haul. [RELATED: Check out who the Panthers select in our latest mock draft] And most importantly, establish the run. If he could have it his way, Canales would forever keep Young out of third-and-long situations. He would forever build his offense around the run game — to support the passing game. It’s a philosophy he drew from his time working under Pete Carroll in Seattle. "The greatest thing you could do for a quarterback is to develop a consistent run game. Sounds crazy, but it's the truth," Canales told me. Playing from behind? Throwing at a high volume? Putting the quarterback in hard downs? "You're exposing them," Canales said. "All of that stuff stunts development." You could see that run-game emphasis in 2025, with Carolina backs Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard combining for 1,587 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Canales knows that emphasis can’t change — even if the Panthers have to commit a large portion of their salary cap to their quarterback and it gets harder to keep him out of the "hard downs." But as committed as the Panthers have been to Young’s development, they have yet to commit to him on that second contract. "Is it Bryce? I hope so," Canales told me. "That's our goal, to make it so that we can build a strong enough team to be able to withstand that [contract] and continue to have that layered, progressive developmental approach."