STEPHEN A. Smith labeled Bryce Young’s time at the Carolina Panthers ‘an unmitigated disaster.’

The second-year quarterback was brutally benched by the Panthers after another horror show.

Stephen A. Smith labeled Bryce Young’s time in Carolina ‘an unmitigated disaster’Credit: ESPN

Young was benched after just two wins in 18 games and a horror start to the 2024 seasonCredit: Getty
Veteran Andy Dalton, 36, will take over under center after Carolina fell to 0-2 to start the season.

Young, 23, threw for just 84 yards in Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers with one interception.

That followed his 161 yards and two interceptions in the 47-10 hammering by the New Orleans Saints to start the season.

Young was the No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick last year but has won just two and lost 16 games.

First Take host Molly Qerim asked Smith if Young was the worst No. 1 overall pick ever.

“He probably needs to go to a new situation, but if he doesn’t then the answer to this question is probably yes,” Smith admitted.

But the First Take star also admitted, “I’m not rooting for that, he’s a great kid and was a star at Alabama.

“When he was picked No. 1 overall, I didn’t hear a lot of people poo-pooing that.

“But it’s been an unmitigated disaster.”

Smith also noted that the Panthers have only led for a total of 10 seconds in their last 10 games.

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“That’s just an atrocity,” Smith declared.

He then reeled off a number of stats about Young having the lowest completion rate in the league and being last in touchdown percentage, yards per attempt and passer rating.

Smith then drew a comparison to another famous bust from previous years.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Jamarcus Russell wasn’t even that bad,” he claimed.

“You know how I feel about Jamarcus Russell.

First Take viewing figures

First Take went from strength to strength under the guidance of Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim last year.

The weekday ESPN debate show averaged 496,000 viewers in 2023 – making it the most-watched year in program history.

Its December average of 611,000 was a 24% year-on-year increase compared to 2022.

The show also reported more than 250 million views on YouTube.

First Take was helped by the addition of Shannon Sharpe alongside Smith and Qerim after he left Fox Sports’ Undisputed.

“This is maybe the biggest bust in NFL history.

“These are the kind of things that are starting to be brought up.

“They have a new coach, the ownership has been a disaster – no cohesion, no structure whatsoever.

“We know it’s not just him, but he looked three inches shorter than me and I wondered ‘how is he going to be able to succeed on an NFL level?’

“Here we are with a year and two games evidence and it’s very bad.”

Russell was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders but his career was abruptly ended in 2009.