With the schedule release in the rearview mirror, we are now firmly in “rankings season” territory. That means we’re in for three months of wildly off-base takes about the NFL, and we’re already off to a hot start on Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young.
The latest in this long-running saga comes from former NFL passer and current Pro Football Talk analyst Chris Simms, who is currently going through his annual quarterback rankings. Simms, not the most well-noted supporter of Young’s, puts the former No. 1 overall pick all the way down at No. 31—just above Atlanta’s Michael Penix Jr.
Check it out:
It’s fair to say that Young is a below-average starter, or that you don’t believe he’s worth a long-term contract at this point in his career. To place him this low is a simple case of questionable analysis, though.
Aside from the first two games of the 2024 season, Young has never—at any point—been the 31st-best quarterback in the NFL. That certainly isn’t the case coming off 2025 either, as he passed for career-highs across the board while leading the Panthers to an NFC South title.
There’s a bare minimum of eight or nine starters around the league who Young is better than. And if he continues to grow he’ll soon be over the hump, and should even be ranked among the top 16. That Simms is still bringing up the same tired pre-draft arguments about Young’s lack of size may show some unfair judgment.
The careers of Drew Brees, Russell Wilson and a handful of other smaller NFL quarterbacks proves that a lack of size is not a guaranteed impediment to success at this level. And the hundreds of 6-foot-4 or taller quarterbacks who never found their footing in the NFL proves that size is far from the most important element under center.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Chris Simms has Panthers’ Bryce Young wildly low in QB rankings
