The Carolina Panthers finished last season ranked 26th in passing offense. Four games into 2026, with Bryce Young leading the NFL in passing yards, they rank first. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote Wednesday that the jump is going to put offensive coordinator Brad Idzik in the head coach conversation.
“What Carolina offensive coordinator Brad Idzik is doing with Bryce Young will be hard to ignore,” Fowler wrote in his notebook. “He has Young playing fast and with confidence. That will get noticed by front offices and owners.”
How Idzik got the play sheet
Idzik, 34, has been Carolina’s coordinator since Dave Canales arrived, but this is his first season calling plays. He is the son of former Jets general manager John Idzik. Canales announced the change in February at the scouting combine. “It was extremely difficult for me because I do enjoy calling plays,” Canales said then, explaining that he asked himself, “Can I affect our whole team in a more positive way?” He described Idzik as “my primary architect for what we do offensively with the run game, the pass game, and the connection of it.”
What Bryce Young’s numbers look like now
Young has 1,268 passing yards, nine touchdown passes and two interceptions, and he has topped 285 yards in all four games. He threw for 3,011 in 16 starts last season. His 88.6 overall grade from PFF ranks third among 33 quarterbacks.
Sunday night was the best example so far. Young completed 29 of 41 passes for 329 yards and two touchdown passes in a 32-26 win over Detroit, with Tetairoa McMillan catching 14 passes for 192 yards, and Fowler wrote that Young “was dicing up Detroit with RPOs.” Fowler called Young “excellent at the option play, with deft ball handling and quick decision-making,” though he expects Carolina to use it as a wrinkle more than a steady diet.
The Panthers, who won the NFC South at 8-9 last season, are 2-2 and on their bye. They return Oct. 18 at Philadelphia and hope to have receiver Jalen Coker back from a quad injury by then, according to Fowler. If the passing game is still on top of the league in January, Canales could be looking for a new play caller.
