“Can’t make a play if somebody don’t catch a ball,” C.J. Stroud blames Bryce Young’s underwhelming rookie year performance on the Panthers’ poor offensive roster

Stroud was picked second in the 2023 NFL Draft behind Bryce Young.

“Can’t make a play if somebody don’t catch a ball,” C.J. Stroud blames Bryce Young’s underwhelming rookie year performance on the Panthers’ poor offensive roster

(L) Bryce Young; (R) CJ Stroud (Via Imago)

Heading into the 2023-24 NFL season, the buzz was all about Bryce Young. What can the first pick in the NFL Draft accomplish in his rookie season? Is he the answer to the Carolina Panthers QB-struggles?

As the season progressed, Young failed to live up to the expectations, but his competition and the second pick of his draft class, C.J. Stroud, managed to achieve everything that Young was expected to achieve. Despite the first pick’s struggles this season, Stroud stood up for him.

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He addressed Bryce Young’s struggles in his first year on The Pivot Podcast and said,

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In his shoes, I feel like a lot of stuff didn't go his way. That was out of his control. You can't make a play if somebody don't block.

He was shifting the blame onto the offensive line. The quarterback made a fair point. No matter how great a QB is, if he does not have an O-line that can block, he is not going to have enough time to throw the ball and work his magic.

C.J. Stroud called out Bryce Young’s receiving core as well. 

You can't make a play if somebody don't catch a ball. And when you watch the tape, Bryce did a lot great things. He's gonna be a great player, but it takes time.

Ultimately, winning football games comes down to which team has a well-balanced roster and has a competent head coach. The Panthers lacked both this season.

The Carolina Panthers continued to struggle despite having Bryce Young this season

Stroud admitted that he was lucky enough to land up in a significantly better situation in Houston. 

I think I came into a situation where we were struggling, but we still had a lot of good pieces. And Nick Caserio, our GM, brought in a lot of good vets. DeMeco (Ryans) was the perfect coach for our type of team.
CJ Stroud
CJ Stroud (via Imago)

The Houston Texans emerged as the biggest underdogs in football after the team managed to make a deep playoff run. Despite losing in the Divisional Round to the Ravens, they showed immense grit and left their fans hopeful that the future is bright in Houston. The story was different for Bryce Young and the Panthers who managed to win just 2 games this season. The team’s season was utterly disappointing.

Young had a decent rookie season, but C.J. Stroud, on the other hand, managed to have a stellar one and was briefly in the MVP conversation. He is a lock for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Even though Young may have had a rough start in the NFL, C.J. Stroud is optimistic about his future, 

Everybody's path is different. Maybe I had a good rookie year, and Bryce is gonna have a great second year...but I know everything's gonna be fine for him....

A year ago, nobody would have predicted this, especially after the Texans’ QB received criticism over his poor testing scores in the draft process.

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