The Bryce Trade is Finally Complete. Who Won the Trade? Panthers vs Bears

[frankw]

I'm hoping the Bears implode again this upcoming season because fug them but there's a good chance they trend up with Ben Johnson. There's still a lot of talent on that roster. And let's not forget they obliterated us last season. And that was with a head coach that's since been canned.

The "we won the trade" folks might want to wait and see how things shake out.

[CPantherKing]

DJ Moore > Bryce Young

Everything else is bonus for the Bears

[grateflday]

I will know how I feel for sure after this next upcoming season. If Bryce plays like he did those last 8 games, especially the last 4, and continue to get even better than I say the Panthers won the trade.  

Overall, despite how it all plays out, I think the trade was a good decision because it was a good shot at drafting a franchise QB and overall, even at the time, I really didn't think the Panthers gave up that much relatively speaking and compared to other trades made in the past to move up, etc. 

[SOJA]

Again had we not ended up gifting the number one pick this trade would be closer. The problem was we misevaluated how close we were. From an asset standpoint it isn't close the Bears gave up a number one pick and got one in return plus a bunch of other stuff. 

Had we traded Brian Burns for two firsts and then used those instead of our pick it would have been us 

[mrcompletely11]

I guess this goes in this thread.  But this is a must listen.  2 dudes from the athletic spend about 20 minutes discussing Young, going over stats and his wrs and key plays.  Very nuanced and unbiased.

In short, his wrs were garbage, he had some big time throws at times, but his mechanics and physical limitations (size, mechanics etc) will perpetually hold him back. 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/podcast/211-the-athletic-football-show/episode-1169/

[frankw]

1 minute ago, mrcompletely11 said:

I guess this goes in this thread.  But this is a must listen.  2 dudes from the athletic spend about 20 minutes discussing Young, going over stats and his wrs and key plays.  Very nuanced and unbiased.

In short, his wrs were garbage, he had some big time throws at times, but his mechanics and physical limitations (size, mechanics etc) will perpetually hold him back. 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/podcast/211-the-athletic-football-show/episode-1169/

I'll give this a listen later today. I think even with the size debate he could still be a successful QB based on our surrounding cast. Of course that's not what we were sold in the lead up to the 2023 draft. But that ship has long sailed. The question is will he return to his old habits with his footwork. If he does nothing else will matter anyways.

[mrcompletely11]

3 minutes ago, frankw said:

I'll give this a listen later today. I think even with the size debate he could still be a successful QB based on our surrounding cast. Of course that's not what we were sold in the lead up to the 2023 draft. But that ship has long sailed. The question is will he return to his old habits with his footwork. If he does nothing else will matter anyways.

Its a great listen.  One guy is "high" on bryce the other plays devils advocate.  They both agree that his ceiling is roughly top 12ish in the league and Panthers should be happy with that.  The detail they go into is impressive.  Nice to hear.

 

And they say what we have been saying, it takes a good oline, a good running game, good wrs and good play calling to get him to top 10-12ish.  Not ideal

Edited 4 hours ago by mrcompletely11

[frankw]

1 minute ago, mrcompletely11 said:

Its a great listen.  One guy is "high" on bryce the other plays devils advocate.  They both agree that his ceiling is roughly top 12ish in the league and Panthers should be happy with that.  The detail they go into is impressive.  Nice to hear.

 

And they say what we have been saying, it takes a good oline, a good running game, good wrs and good play calling to get him to top 10-12ish.  Not ideal

Looks like a subscription is required under the guise of a "free trial". Eh maybe later.

Well that's not ideal for sure but in the meantime acceptable while he's on his rookie contract but there's no way we're going to get back to winning with an albatross like Brock Purdy's contract on us if Bryce's ceiling is predicated on top shelf talent across the board around him. Because until proven otherwise we are still mediocre at drafting talent and that's the only path forward in that scenario. This goes back to what I said about him needing to have a stellar third season. There can't be skepticism remaining he needs to look the part throughout the season.

[mrcompletely11]

23 minutes ago, frankw said:

Looks like a subscription is required under the guise of a "free trial". Eh maybe later.

Well that's not ideal for sure but in the meantime acceptable while he's on his rookie contract but there's no way we're going to get back to winning with an albatross like Brock Purdy's contract on us if Bryce's ceiling is predicated on top shelf talent across the board around him. Because until proven otherwise we are still mediocre at drafting talent and that's the only path forward in that scenario. This goes back to what I said about him needing to have a stellar third season. There can't be skepticism remaining he needs to look the part throughout the season.

Use Spotify 

[shaqattaq]

On 4/28/2025 at 12:37 PM, LinvilleGorge said:

 If Caleb Williams doesn't work out it's definitely his fault because the Bears are ALL IN. They went out and got an offensive coach and they've put an embarrassment of riches of skill positions talent around him. It's on him at this point.

We've done the same for Bryce. Overhauled the interior O-line via FA, hired a "QB Whisperer" as HC, spent 2 1st rd picks on WR, a 2 & 4 rd pick on RB, and drafted 2 TE's. It's up to him now!

FWIW, I think he's a franchise QB.

[LinvilleGorge]

4 minutes ago, shaqattaq said:

We've done the same for Bryce. Overhauled the interior O-line via FA, hired a "QB Whisperer" as HC, spent 2 1st rd picks on WR, a 2 & 4 rd pick on RB, and drafted 2 TE's. It's up to him now!

FWIW, I think he's a franchise QB.

It's what you should do when you've invested as much into a guy as we have Bryce. At the end of the day, even if he doesn't work out we should've built a nice foundation for the next guy to hopefully build upon.

[Icege]

1 hour ago, mrcompletely11 said:

I guess this goes in this thread.  But this is a must listen.  2 dudes from the athletic spend about 20 minutes discussing Young, going over stats and his wrs and key plays.  Very nuanced and unbiased.

In short, his wrs were garbage, he had some big time throws at times, but his mechanics and physical limitations (size, mechanics etc) will perpetually hold him back. 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/podcast/211-the-athletic-football-show/episode-1169/

Great find! Thanks for the link.

For folks that are hesitant to click, they immediately start with Bryce. It's kind of funny though how much the conversation mirrors the Huddle. One person citing all of Bryce's stats showing improvement and progress, and the other ultimately circling back to, "He's just too small." Especially these two exchanges...

 

Quote

Robert: "I'm going to call you a hypocrite in this moment. All you want is for guys to be aggressive and to take the big chunks when they're there. I'm going to read you some Bryce Young stats from the second half of last season... Where do you think Bryce Young ranked in air yards per attempt in the back half of last year? He was 3rd. He was behind Anthony Richardson and Lamar Jackson. That's where Bryce Young ranked. Where do you think Bryce Young ranked in the percentage of his throws to the sticks in the back half of last season? 5th. So the only full-time starters in the back half that were ahead of him last year were Lamar Jackson, Anthony Richardson, Justin Herbert, and Sam Darnold. In almost any other packaging, you would appreciate this, but because he's small you're holding it against him."

Derrick: "I mean, it's the height but he's just not that talented of a thrower. I appreciate his willingness to make a lot of these throws... I also think that for as nice as some of those throws were, he got away with a lot of poo last year that I just... It's just one of those things where I would rather see it again because we've seen this before. Case Keenum had a year where he just got away with stuff that he probably shouldn't have gotten away with because he was being aggressive. And I just want to see a little more before I can buy into it."

Robert: "What are we talking about with getting away with stuff though? I don't think he's getting away with anything with those receivers. The amount of throws he got away with I absolutely think that is outshined by far with the amount of throws that were left on the field because of who he was throwing the ball to."

Derrick: "Well if we're just talking about production, sure. But there are just moments where he's trying to make a throw and I'm like... safety is way later there than he should be just like all of this other stuff where I just don't feel like he should have gotten away with that vs. good teams."

 

Quote

Robert: "I just love that we've now realized the limitations of your sizism and how it relates to QBs because so many things about how he plays... He had the highest percentage of tight window throws in the league in the second half of last year. Only two QBs threw a lower percentage of their passes behind the LOS during the second half of last season: those QBs are Joe Flacco and Jameis Winston. This is a man who is trying to play the position an honourable way and you just refuse to acknowledge it."

Derrick: "He's trying his hardest but there are still certain... you gotta be this tall to ride meters that you gotta hit."

To be fair, Derrick does provide more pointed criticisms like the lack of the screen game in Carolina, his issues with Bryce's timing in the short game, etc. A lot of it though seemed to ultimately circle back to, "too small."

I guess in the end, that's what it boils down to. There's going to be fans that are eager to see Bryce perform well and look at different indicators of performance to track that potential development. Then there's going to be fans that, while they might no longer believe that Bryce can't be an NFL starter, they still believe that his size is going to prevent him from ever being a top-10 QB (which could potentially make the trade for him "worth it").

Most we can do is sit and wait.
 

Edited 2 hours ago by Icege

[shaqattaq]

2 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

It's what you should do when you've invested as much into a guy as we have Bryce. At the end of the day, even if he doesn't work out we should've built a nice foundation for the next guy to hopefully build upon.

Exactly! The main difference is that Caleb stepped into a better situation. DJ was a proven WR, & they got a legit LT with our 2023 pick. Bryce had jackshit and frikin Reich (a proven loser) as HC! Poor bastard didn't stand a chance! THIS is his prove it season.

[mrcompletely11]

20 minutes ago, Icege said:

Great find! Thanks for the link.

For folks that are hesitant to click, they immediately start with Bryce. It's kind of funny though how much the conversation mirrors the Huddle. One person citing all of Bryce's stats showing improvement and progress, and the other ultimately circling back to, "He's just too small." Especially these two exchanges...

 

 

To be fair, Derrick does provide more pointed criticisms like the lack of the screen game in Carolina, his issues with Bryce's timing in the short game, etc. A lot of it though seemed to ultimately circle back to, "too small."

I guess in the end, that's what it boils down to. There's going to be fans that are eager to see Bryce perform well and look at different indicators of performance to track that potential development. Then there's going to be fans that, while they might no longer believe that Bryce can't be an NFL starter, they still believe that his size is going to prevent him from ever being a top-10 QB (which could potentially make the trade for him "worth it").

Most we can do is sit and wait.
 

I didnt know you could find the transcripts thats awesome you can just read the podcast if you wanted.

 

But all in all they both agree that bryce's ceiling is top 10-12.  With that said, is that good enough?  We obviously paid too much but is a top 10-12 qb best case, that has to have everything around him right good enough for us to give him a new deal?  That puts him in the kyler, dak, tua tier.  I dont think any of those dudes are putting the team on his back and winning playoff games

 

and if anyone cares McShay show is doing a deep dive on the 2026 qb class.  They have done arch and now garret N.  They cannot believe how good Garrett is. So if this team flames out we are going to have options at least unlike this past draft