Mel Kiper Rips David Tepper, Panthers for Handling of Bryce Young Before Benching

ESPN NFL draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. has joined the chorus of voices calling out the Carolina Panthers' general dysfunction after head coach Dave Canales benched quarterback Bryce Young.

Appearing on Get Up, Kiper said the Panthers have "mishandled" Young from the moment they took him first overall in the 2023 NFL draft. He cited the turnover on the coaching staff and the overhaul to the offensive game plan from last year to this season.

Kiper effectively argued Carolina acted out of panic after C.J. Stroud hit the ground running as a rookie with the Houston Texans when it made so many changes. Then the team didn't allow Young to get a lot of on-field reps in the preseason to adjust to how Canales and offensive coordinator Brad Idzik want to operate.

"To blame this on Bryce Young is ridiculous," Kiper said. "The blame here goes to the organization, the owner [David Tepper], for mishandling this young quarterback."

Young entered the NFL with some concerns, mainly surrounding his 5'10", 204-pound frame. He's a physical outlier at his position. In a scouting report for B/R, Derrik Klassen also contrasted him with another smaller QB in Kyler Murray, saying the Arizona Cardinals star is a better athlete and possesses a stronger arm.

In general, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner wasn't considered a slam dunk in the same way past No. 1 overall picks have been.

To Kiper's point, though, the Panthers have done almost everything wrong in terms of Young's development.

Carolina traded away its best wide receiver, DJ Moore, as part of the deal to move up to the top spot in the draft, so Young joined an offense without a true No. 1 wideout. Then the team fired head coach Frank Reich, who was hired because of his experience developing quarterbacks, after a 1-10 start before jettisoning general manager Scott Fitterer after the season ended.

There's no getting around the fact that Young had a disappointing rookie campaign and doesn't seem to have improved much. He's coming off a Week 2 outing in which he threw for just 84 yards on 26 attempts.

However, pretty much anybody thrown into these circumstances might have been doomed to fail.