Live updates from 2023 NFL Draft as Panthers select Bryce Young with first overall pick

Happy NFL Draft Day — and night! This should be one of the most significant days in the history of the Carolina Panthers, who hold the No. 1 pick.

The Charlotte Observer has you covered today with a battalion of reporters and visual journalists covering the run-up to the Panthers’ pick, which should be made shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern time, and then after the choice is made as well.

Panthers beat writer Mike Kaye will have news and reaction from Panthers headquarters at Bank of America Stadium all day and night Thursday. The Observer’s Scott Fowler is covering the NFL Draft from Kansas City, Mo., where the top picks have gathered along with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Many other Observer staffers will contribute as the day and night unfold. If you’re watching on TV, the draft will be on ESPN, ABC and NFL Network, starting at 8 p.m. Thursday.

One note: the newest posts are at the top of this story. Scroll down to see the older ones you may have missed.

Updates from the NFL Draft’s opening day

8:19 pm: Last month, the Carolina Panthers traded up from No. 9 to No. 1 in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Thursday night in Kansas City, the team picked the player they hope will be the face of the franchise for the next decade. The Panthers were put on the clock at 8:11 p.m. and the team’s pick came in eight minutes later.

With the first pick, Carolina selected Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, the 5-foot-10, 204-pound star who won the 2021 Heisman Trophy and dominated college football for the past two years, while playing in arguably the nation’s top conference, the SEC.

A 21-year-old from Pasadena, California, Young ended his college career, after his junior season, with 80 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

In 27 starts with the Crimson Tide, Young was 23-4.

— Langston Wertz Jr.

8:19 p.m.: Observer correspondent Cameron Williams caught the fans’ reaction at Bank of America Stadium when the pick was announced.

7:50 pm: Shortly before the start of the 2023 draft, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell honored three University of Virginia football players, who were killed in a shooting in November.

One of those three was former Hough High star Devin Chandler.

Goodell welcomed the families of the three players on stage and said that all three players had dreamed of making the NFL.

“Today,” Goodell said, “we’re making that dream come true.”

He announced that all three players — Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry — had been “drafted” into the NFL families and presented the families with jerseys of their hometown teams.

— Langston Wertz Jr.

6:41 pm: Observer correspondent Cameron Williams is at Bank of America Stadium and has been talking to fans. He’s asking who they want with the No. 1 pick.

6:30 pm: Gates have opened to the public at Bank of America Stadium. A solid crowd had formed by 6 p.m. just outside the North Gate, with the line curling down Graham Street in Uptown Charlotte. There were a lot of jerseys repping the Panthers’ precious past in that line — jerseys of Julius Peppers and Cam Newton and Steve Smith and Christian McCaffrey and others. The team’s future, these fans hope, begins tonight.

— Alex Zietlow

6:07 pm: MaxPreps reports that in the past 10 years, North Carolina has produced 91 of the nearly 2,600 NFL picks.

Florida (316 players selected) and Texas (284) are first and second, followed by California and Georgia. North Carolina ranked among the top 10 states nationwide. South Carolina, if you’re wondering, has produced 59 picks in the past 10 years, according to the website.

This year, several former N.C. high school stars are ranked among the top 200 in the CBS Sports player rankings, including Mallard Creek’s Trent Simpson (56) and Parkwood’s Nick Saldiveri (80).

Full list of eligible NC players is here.

— Langston Wertz Jr.

5:45 pm: Alabama QB Bryce Young figures to go early in the draft tonight, perhaps to Carolina at No. 1.

According to Front Office Sports, Young has already signed some endorsement deals — with sports drink BodyArmor, Snickers candy bar and Jordan Brand. That means Young will wear sneakers and apparel from the Nike division named for Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan.

— Langston Wertz Jr.

4:55 pm: The Charlotte Observer has made its way to Bank of America Stadium where it’s raining consistently. Fans headed to the team’s draft party — which is slated to take place regardless of the weather — should bring rain gear (but not umbrellas; they aren’t allowed).

Owners David and Nicole Tepper, general manager Scott Fitterer and head coach Frank Reich are scheduled to speak on stage shortly after the first overall pick is made around 8 p.m. Public gates will open at 6 p.m.

Former linebacker Luke Kuechly as well as current Panthers, Derrick Brown, Ikem Ekwonu and Adam Thielen, will speak as well, according to the team.

— Mike Kaye

2:12 pm: A little less than six hours before the Panthers’ pick, and NFL Network has reported that Bryce Young ... won’t be wearing a tie tonight. Yep, they have a lot of airtime to fill.

More relevant to Panther fans: Potential rain at the draft party at Bank of America Stadium isn’t going to stop the party. The event is scheduled rain or shine. Free ponchos will be available to fans while supplies last.

Note that umbrellas are NOT permitted in the stadium. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. The pick will happen a little after 8 p.m., and the fireworks and light show is supposed to happen around 8:55 p.m. Times are subject to change. If you’re interested in buying tickets, check this link out. They are $5 apiece, with the money going to charity.

— Scott Fowler

12:45 pm: Mel Kiper Jr.’s final 2023 mock draft Top 5 has four players from the SEC going early.

— Langston Wertz Jr.

12:35 pm: The greatest quarterback in Carolina Panthers history, and a former top NFL Draft pick himself, thinks he knows exactly who the team should select with the No. 1 pick tonight.

“I’m taking Bryce Young,” Cam Newton said on a YouTube video he posted Wednesday. “He’s had the ability to play in the big game, to perform in the big game and to get guys to buy into him. You see guys selling out for him. I look at the small stuff. I saw a couple of times a person tried to hit Bryce and you see how his offensive linemen are whooping ass trying to get guys off of him.”

Newton pointed out that Young’s career record of 23-4 as a starter at Alabama was a key factor in decision, noting that Ohio State QB CJ Stroud was 21-4. But Newton believes the quality of competition that Young faced in the SEC makes a big difference.

“That’s not to discredit the Big Ten or the conference talent,” he said, “but I was watching half of those games from Bryce Young and I was amazed. Not only did he have good talent but he was the best talent on a good team.”

Newton also said with quarterbacks like Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield being taken No. 1 overall in past drafts, that Young’s height shouldn’t work against him.

Murray, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, measured 5-foot-10 and 204 pounds. Mayfield, who measured 6-foot-1, 215, was taken No. 1 in 2018.

Now it could be Young’s turn. Young, however, is 5-foot-10, 204 pounds.

And that doesn’t bother Newton one bit.

“My only knock on Bryce Young is that he went to Alabama (whereas Newton went to Auburn),” Newton said. “I know how petty it may sound to some people, but you have to be from Alabama or have gone to Auburn or Alabama to understand the severity of the topic. But if I’m the GM, if I’m the head coach, if I’m (Panthers owner) David Tepper, I’m selecting Bryce Young.”

Young also has has a high opinion of the former Panthers star, who led Carolina to multiple division titles and a 2016 Super Bowl appearance.

“I have the utmost respect for Cam Newton,” Young said Wednesday. “Him being able to come in and have the success that he had, you now, being the MVP, playing at such a high level, taking the Panthers to a Super Bowl — and all the success he’s been able to have throughout his career and all the stuff that he does in the community. ... All the Alabama-Auburn stuff aside, it would be a huge honor, and I have the utmost respect for him.”

— Langston Wertz Jr.

12:07 pm: Uptown Charlotte is just about ready. The Panthers are welcoming fans to Bank of America Stadium for the team’s Draft Party tonight, which starts at 6:30 p.m. and features a night filled with fireworks, a light show, a live stream of the NFL Draft and more. Admission costs $5 and also features a tour of the Panthers locker room and entry tunnel and photo opportunities with a bunch of Panthers legends like Mike Rucker, Wesley Walls and others. For more information on tonight’s event, visit the team website.

Also of note: A sliver of Mint Street in uptown — the street that is closed to drivers in order to allow fans to walk around the stadium — will also be closed tonight for the party. As of noon, no there were no blockages.

— Alex Zietlow

10:40 am: Entering Day 1 of the NFL Draft, the Panthers have six total selections — including the first overall pick.

Below are the Panthers’ selections entering the draft:

Round 1: First overall

Round 2: 39th overall

Round 3: 93rd overall (via SF)

Round 4 (2): 114th overall, 132nd overall (via SF)

Round 5: 145th overall

The Panthers will need to use their six picks wisely, as the team still has several holes to fill. While it’s a foregone conclusion that the team will take a quarterback at No. 1, Carolina also notable needs elsewhere.

Below are the Panthers’ top needs entering Round 1:

- Quarterback

- EDGE rusher

- Interior defensive line

- Inside linebacker

- Cornerback

- Wide receiver

- Tight end

- Swing tackle

The Panthers currently have 65 players under contract. If their draft selection total remains the same throughout the weekend, they’ll have 71 spots accounted for. They’ll need to add 19 other players to the roster to meet the league-mandated 90-man roster limit. The majority of those additions will come via undrafted free agency following the draft.

— Mike Kaye

‘We weren’t going to settle’: How Panthers executives collaborated on offseason moves

9:50 am: In Kansas City, it’s hard to miss that the city is hosting the NFL Draft for the first time. There is signage at the airport. Streets are blocked off downtown and an enormous outdoor stage has been constructed. Hotel rates have skyrocketed. Barbecue is being sold at a pace that would make any North Carolina BBQ joint proud.

The prospective draft picks are already here. They participated in several community events at a Kansas City high school Wednesday. Former Alabama teammates Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr. stuck close to each other for most of that time.

At one point, they were helping to plant tomatoes in a new garden at Central High School, and Anderson asked Young what he was going to name the tomato he just planted.

“Red? I don’t know,” Young said.

That was one of the few times Young was caught off-guard by a question Wednesday. The player everyone expects to be picked No. 1 overall by the Carolina Panthers has an answer for everything, including questions about his 5-foot-10 height.

“I I focus only on what I can control,” Young said. “I can’t grow.”

— Scott Fowler

9:30 am: While you’re awaiting the Panthers’ pick, here’s some reading from The Observer’s coverage of the draft this week.

▪ A breakdown of Bryce Young vs. C.J. Stroud in a variety of categories.

▪ On Young, and the expectation that he and the Panthers are going to be a match on Thursday.

▪ On former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud pushing back on the notion that he’s not a smart quarterback (including an Observer video from Kansas City at the top of the story that has been viewed more than 2.6 million times on Twitter).

▪ Mike Kaye answers Carolina fans’ questions on Panther trade candidates and more.

▪ On potential draft picks from our area — both the sure things and the long shots.

▪ Ranking all 28 Panther previous first-round picks in history, from the best to the busts.

Keep refreshing this page for updates throughout the day.