Ryan Leaf knows all too well the backlash that comes with the failures of being a high draft pick. The San Diego Chargers gave Leaf every opportunity to succeed after selecting him No. 2 overall in 1998, yet the franchise had to move on after three seasons.
Leaf wished the Panthers would have given Bryce Young a longer leash.
Speaking with TMZ Sports on Tuesday, Leaf blamed the Carolina Panthers organization for their handling of Young — wanting them to give Young more of an opportunity to succeed.
“They screwed this thing up from the get-go, though. I mean, this organization is horrible,” Leaf said. “This organization has done nothing to try to help and develop a player that has so much expectation on him. And so, I laid this at the feet of the organization completely.”
Leaf knows all too well how early struggles can ruin a player’s confidence. Poor attitude and an inability to control his temper got the best of Leaf, who completed 45.3% of his passes with two touchdowns to just 15 interceptions in his rookie season. He yelled at a reporter and gave a half-hearted apology, while alienating himself from his teammates throughout the year.
The anger issues evolved into the next season as he missed the year with shoulder surgery. Leaf was released by the Chargers after the 2000 season, and finished with a 4-17 record as a starter, completing just 48.4% of his passes with 14 touchdowns to 36 interceptions in 25 games. He was out of the NFL after 2001.
Young didn’t have the anger issues Leaf had, but the performance may have been worse. Through two games, Young has completed 55.4% of his passes for 245 yards with no touchdowns to three interceptions, while being sacked six times. Young is averaging 4.4 yards per attempt and has a 44.1 passer rating through two starts.
The poor performance can be attributed to a poor start. Young went 8 of 10 for 22 yards with an interception in the first half, having a 39.6 rating in the opening 30 minutes. This is on the heels of a performance where Young went 6 of 12 for 50 yards and an interception and two sacks (26.4 rating).
Will Young get another opportunity? Leaf doesn’t seem too optimistic.
“There’s no one in that locker room that seemingly feels that way,” Leaf said. “And that is a hard place to be as a leader of men when you’re 22, 23 years old.”
