Bryce Young's benching prompts comparison to infamous NFL Draft bust

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales is benching 2023 first overall pick Bryce Young in favor of veteran quarterback Andy Dalton for the team's Week 3 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.

After a rough rookie season, Young has had a brutal start to the 2024 campaign — as have the rest of the Panthers, who are 0-2 in Canales' first two contests at the helm. Still, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner's move to the bench is somewhat surprising, given that he's only 18 games into his career and hasn't had much help. (The team has surrendered an NFL-high 73 points this year.)

With the Raiders on deck in Week 3, however, given Dalton's 4-0 career mark against Oakland/Las Vegas, he'll likely give Carolina a better chance at getting in the win column than his teammate.

As Young heads to the bench, some have started comparing the Alabama product to one of, if not the biggest bust in NFL Draft history in former quarterback JaMarcus Russell.

Russell was selected first overall by the then-Oakland Raiders during the 2007 draft and lasted just three seasons in the league.

Young's demotion comes just one day after his historically poor performance during the Panthers' 26-3 defeat against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2. The 23-year-old finished the loss 18-for-26 with 84 passing yards, no touchdowns and one interception for a 57.2 passer rating.

Young's passing yards tied for the fourth fewest in franchise history for a quarterback with at least 25 attempts, according to an ESPN report . The report added that Young also was the third player in the past 20 seasons to average four or fewer yards per dropback in four straight starts.

Canales had said following Sunday's loss that the second-year pro would be the team's starter in Week 3, but changed his tone less than 24 hours later.

"Andy gives us our best chance moving forward," Canales said. "This is something after I watched the film. ... I looked at it, had a thought and started on talking to the guys that we make decisions with. Certainly a lot of parties involved there, and ultimately this comes on me. My No. 1 responsibility is to help the Panthers win and so this move puts us in the best chance to do that."