INDIANAPOLIS — The Panthers’ new leadership team — the D&D duo — shed some light on some important topics Tuesday at the NFL combine.
Dave Canales and Dan Morgan said Ikem Ekwonu will stick at left tackle rather than shifting inside. The Panthers are keeping their options open with Brian Burns, want to extend Derrick Brown and Frankie Luvu and are ecstatic about retaining Ejiro Evero and his entire defensive staff.
All that is fine and well. But D&D — Canales in particular — will be defined by whether and how quickly they can get Bryce Young playing like a franchise quarterback. It didn’t go so swimmingly for their predecessors.
Young’s struggles after the Panthers went all-in to trade for the No. 1 pick cost former head coach Frank Reich his job after just 11 games. Ex-general manager Scott Fitterer wasn’t far behind him.
While both men will continue to get paid handsomely not to work by David Tepper, the job of fixing Young falls on Canales, who peeled back at least part of the plan Tuesday during his first combine as a head coach.
Dave Canales says he’s working on a detailed, tangible plan to present to Bryce Young (something Seahawks did w QBs).
But Canales does not believe Bryce needs a “big fix.” pic.twitter.com/7TrxYfE8ID— Joe Person (@josephperson) February 27, 2024
The 42-year-old Canales has spoken with Young a couple times a week since being hired a month ago. Rules prohibit them from talking much football. But Canales wants to connect with the former Alabama star so there’s familiarity when the work starts this spring with OTAs and minicamp.
In the meantime, Canales has been huddling with quarterbacks coach Will Harriger to devise a plan for Young, which Canales will present to his quarterback later in the offseason.
“But we’re not talking about a guy that there’s a big fix for, really,” Canales said. “You’re looking at an accurate player, a really smart player. He’s aware of what’s happening. And we’ve gotta build the whole thing around him, the whole offense around him.”
Quarterbacks who have played for Canales say he does a good job tailoring his scheme and concepts to his QB’s strengths. That worked well in Seattle and Tampa Bay, where Canales earned a reputation as a quarterback rescuer for turning around Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield, respectively.
Canales referenced a couple of things Tuesday of note — namely, Young’s footwork and a stopwatch.
Young’s footwork became a thing last season as the sacks and hits piled up. Fitterer and former offensive line coach James Campen believed Young wasn’t getting deep enough in his sets, compounding the protection issues. So it was interesting to hear Canales mention it as “basic” improvement for any quarterback.
“Let’s just continue to grow more specific to the pass concept, more specific to who is this person running this route?” Canales said. “Three different receivers, same route — it could be three different things.”
Canales also indicated there will be a coach with a stopwatch at Panthers’ practices to time how quickly Young is getting rid of the ball. Buccaneers senior offensive assistant Tom Moore — and at 85, Moore certainly qualifies — was in charge of the clock at Tampa.
It’s something Canales picked up from Seahawks quarterbacks coach Carl Smith when Canales was a Seattle assistant. He took it to Tampa and now it’s coming to Charlotte.
“We’re going to be on a clock every single time in the spring, every time in camp. That’s not going to be something that’s new or original to the Panthers,” Canales said. “I’ll be a crazy stickler about it.”
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Canales wants the ball out of Young’s hands in 2.7 seconds for checkdowns (after going through his first two reads), 3.4 seconds for downfield throws and 4.2 seconds for slower-developing, play-action passes.
As a rookie, Young held the ball an average of 2.9 seconds before releasing the ball, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Two-tenths of a second doesn’t sound like a lot. But such transgressions from Mayfield last year at practice would draw a stern look from Moore, the legendary, longtime assistant.
“Tom Moore was on the clock every practice with Baker,” Canales said. “He’s sitting back there, he’d look at me and kind of show me the clock and I felt like I was in trouble. I was like, ‘Bake, we’re in trouble here. You’ve gotta get the ball out.’”
Too often the ball didn’t come out at all last year for Young, who was sacked 62 times — more than any rookie in NFL history but David Carr’s 76 in 2002. Season-ending injuries to both starting guards didn’t help, nor did Ekwonu’s regression in his second season.
But Morgan and Canales are committed to keeping Ekwonu at left tackle, where he also could benefit from the stopwatch and Canales’ commitment to timeliness.
“I’m selling to Ickey, I’m selling to (right tackle Taylor) Moton, ‘Guys, be aggressive. We’re gonna get the ball out so you can just be sound in your technique. We don’t have to chase things.’ So we don’t hang ‘em out to dry, within reason,” Canales said. “When we gotta go (deep), we gotta go. But for the most part, we’re gonna try to get the ball out in a rhythmic fashion.”
It will take more than rhythmic releases, better footwork and an improved “Ickey” to get Young playing closer to the form that put him as the top quarterback prospect in last year’s draft. Morgan made no effort to conceal the fact the Panthers need more “playmakers” in the passing game, and the extra $30 million in salary-cap space can buy at least one proven receiver (but not Mike Evans, who knew Canales for all of 11 months).
Reinforcements are also needed up front, specifically at the interior spots that are crucial to providing the diminutive Young clearer passing lanes. But listening to the enthusiastic Canales reveal just a part of his plan Tuesday — and it probably had as much to do with the low bar set last year — made you think: Hey, it’s a start.
(Photo of Bryce Young: John Byrum / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
