Even though there are more than 81,000 college football players and nearly 1,700 NFL athletes, it’s not uncommon to see names being shared. Think of Josh Allen, if you need an example. No, not that one, the other one, the one who plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars. See what I’m saying?
Advertisement
Obviously, the star pass rusher and the quarterback of the Buffalo Bills are in no way related to one another, but what about Bryce Young and Bryce Young? That’s what folks have been asking ever since Notre Dame’s rookie defensive lineman has started to gain some traction.
In addition to sharing the exact same name as the QB1 of the Carolina Panthers, Young is also, ironically enough, from Charlotte, North Carolina. He even has some familial ties to the NFL as his father, Bryant Young, is in the NFL Hall of Fame for his work with the San Francisco 49ers.
That’s where the connections end, however, as the two Young’s, much like the aforementioned Allen’s, share only a name and nothing else. Although, given his rate of play, the Charlotte native could wind up in the league sooner than later.
At which point, we may just be able to see yet another same-name sack in the backfield. It’d be the first one since the famous Allen-on-Allen sack in 2021, and just the second ever in the history of professional football.
JOSH ALLEN SACKS JOSH ALLEN.
@JoshAllen41_
📺: #BUFvsJAX on CBS
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/IKJDcTEn1z— NFL (@NFL) November 7, 2021
As far as the other Bryce Young is concerned, things haven’t been quite the same since his days at Alabama. Coming out of college, he was heralded as the best QB prospect in his draft class, and the Carolina Panthers unloaded a hefty amount of draft capital, along with D.J. Moore, in order to have the honor of drafting him.
Unfortunately, that investment has yet to pay dividends. Young was notoriously benched at one point last season, and even though he’s shown some signs of improvement since then, the Panthers still have just eight wins since 2023.
Through the first month of the 2025 regular season, Young has completed 60.4% of his passes and is averaging 188 passing yards per game. His passing success rate of 42.7% ranks 24th overall among all active signal callers this season, and only four quarterbacks have a worse passer rating than him through these first four weeks.
Seeing as he’s already taken 97 sacks throughout the first three seasons of his career, there would certainly be some increased odds of Young sacking his Carolina counterpart were the two of them to ever cross paths in the league. Until then, however, the Panthers’ primary passer will be hoping to get back on track against a middling Miami Dolphins team that just lost Tyreek Hill for the duration of the season.
