Veteran Andy Dalton got the first reps with the first-team offense in Monday’s OTA practice. Rookie Bryce Young ended up getting more of them.
Via Joseph Person of TheAthletic.com, the first overall pick in the draft got the majority of the snaps with the first-team offense during his first full-squad offseason practice.
It’s not unexpected. Coach Frank Reich recently said Young would end up getting more of the snaps with the first-team offense.
The situation points to Young likely being the Week One starter. At some point, the goal will be to get him ready. Which means that, at some point, he’ll need to get all of the first-team reps.
It’s a tough balance for a team. One one hand, the player must be prepared. On the other hand, other players might think the rookie is being given things he has not earned.
The reality is that Young earned the starting job when the Panthers made him the first overall pick in the draft. The job now becomes getting him ready to do that which the Panthers believe he can do; otherwise, they wouldn’t have picked him.