Two pick-sixes. One postgame mic. Zero excuses. That was Bryce Young in November 2023, when he gave his worst performance of all time. Still, he was standing tall after getting torched by the Colts and personally gift-wrapping 14 points to cornerback Kenny Moore. Carolina didn’t just lose 27-13 – they imploded. And yet, the then-rookie quarterback didn’t flinch. “I turned the ball over three times… everyone else around me did a great job and it’s on me,” Young said calmly after the game. “But no one is going to feel sorry for me and no one is going to feel sorry for us.”

That was the moment fans tapped out. Can’t blame them, though. Because they held on since Day 1. One reader’s 2023 comment under a Go Long article defending Bryce Young now reads like a time capsule of misplaced hope. “Yes, Bryce Young absolutely deserves to go No. 1,” it began, before listing the obvious red flags—his size, frame, limited arm, and need to speed up his clock. But belief outweighed doubt: “If a guy has a chance to be special, you take him.” Fast forward to the sophomore season, and that gamble aged poorly. While C.J. Stroud torched defenses, Young struggled to clear 200 passing yards per game and ranked near the bottom of every major stat.

So yes, Bryce became an easy target. Overdrafted, overrated. Underdelivering. Quiet. Passive. Broken system, broken confidence. But Jimmy Horn Jr. isn’t buying that story. In a recent appearance on Nightcap with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco, the Panthers’ rookie wideout – fresh out of Colorado – offered a completely different lens on the quarterback the world seems to have written off. “Man, it’s been a pleasure to work with Bryce,” Horn said. “Bryce real smart and like he know the game. He can break it down to you. And Bryce, he real accurate, too, man. He nice. He real nice.” No hesitation. No qualifiers. Just honest respect.

And here’s why that matters: Horn isn’t some long-time teammate or media-trained vet. He’s a sixth-round rookie still trying to learn the ropes. If he thought Bryce was fumbling the bag mentally or just skating by on draft hype, he’d say so-or say nothing at all. Instead, Horn’s describing a quarterback who gets it. Not just the mechanics, but the mind behind the game. The reads. The timing. And the layers. That kind of endorsement carries weight, especially from a guy still trying to carve out a role and learn a playbook that’s apparently melting his brain.

Let’s be real – Bryce Young’s second year wasn’t all sunshine and deep balls, but it did end on a high. CBS graded his final performance of the 2024 season as an “A-,” pointing out his accuracy, anticipation, and command in an overtime win. The same QB who got benched earlier that season? Looked calm, creative, and efficient down the stretch. “Young looked like he did as a rookie — abysmal — before his benching in Year 2. Afterward? A completely transformed quarterback,” CBS wrote. In other words, the guy Carolina thought they were drafting might still be in there. He just needed time – and maybe a few teammates who believed in him louder than the media did.

Playbook struggles? Jimmy Horn Jr. isn’t hiding it

That same rookie wideout singing Bryce Young’s praises? He’s also in the thick of his own battle. Because when Ochocinco asked Horn what the toughest part of NFL life has been so far, he didn’t hesitate. “That playbook,” he said flatly. “It’s crazy… like learning a whole another language.” He did note that Coach Prime’s system at Colorado helped – some of the NFL-style concepts were already familiar – but the terminology. The sheer volume? That was another level. And Shannon Sharpe knew it, chiming in with a knowing “All that verbiage.” Horn just laughed. “Yeah. Too much.”

It’s a reminder that rookie struggles aren’t always physical. Sometimes, it’s not about speed or strength – it’s about decoding 700-page manuals on the fly. And for someone like Horn, who’s trying to fight his way up the depth chart, every mental slip costs reps. But he’s not letting the playbook drown him. Horn’s said he wants to emulate Panthers legend Steve Smith – gritty, versatile, tough. Special teams? Check. Slot duties? Check. Take a bubble screen 90 yards? Sure, why not? He’s not worried about stats yet. He just wants to make an impact any way he can.

That mindset, mixed with the quarterback he just called “real smart,” might just give Carolina a fighting chance at rewriting their storyline. Because in a league where everyone’s ready to label busts before the ink on the draft card dries, Bryce Young’s got one rookie on his side – who actually watches the film and runs the routes. And right now, that might mean more than anything else.