The 2022 NFL season hasn’t worked out the way the Carolina Panthers hoped when they used the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft on Alabama quarterback Bryce Young on April 27.

At 1-9, the Panthers have the worst record in the NFL. Young’s passing-efficiency rating ranks 29th among the league’s regular quarterbacks. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Kenny Pickett is the only quarterback who has played as much as Young who has averaged fewer passing yards per game. And only two quarterbacks have been sacked more times than the Carolina rookie.

Also in his first season with the Panthers, coach Frank Reich said he isn’t worried about the losing, the battering and the misfunctioning Carolina offense scarring Young and preventing him from reaching his potential.

“I don’t because of who he is as a person,” Reich said. “That’s one thing that was clear in the draft process, that his mental toughness and character, to me, is unquestioned. Nobody’s perfect, right? We all have weaknesses. We all struggle at times mentally. All of us do — even the most confident guys, the best players in the world. Everybody does, and I’m sure Bryce has his struggles. But I also believe he’s got an inner strength that’s helped him get to where he’s gotten to.

“Even though we all know he’s won a lot of games in high school and college, I think he’s made to handle stuff like this, and I don’t think he’ll accept it. And I think he’ll continue to elevate his game and elevate this team. And it might just take – it’s taken longer than we all wanted it to. But I can tell you this: It’s not on his shoulders. We all have a part of it. Every person has a part of it – player and coach – so we handle it collectively.”

Young agreed with Reich’s assessment after Carolina’s 33-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. In that game, Young posted a season-low 123 passing yards and had an interception returned for a touchdown.

“First and foremost, I lean in on my faith through ups and downs,” Young said. “I don’t expect anything good or bad. I believe God guides my life big picture. What happens, that’s out of my control. I trust God through everything. I lean on my faith, I lean on my teammates, lean on the coaching staff. And, yeah, of course, it’s not ideal, but it’s for a reason. What that reason is, that’s not for me to know, not for me to dwell on. I lean on my faith, I lean on the guys in there, we all lean on each other, and you have to take it for what it is and figure out a way to make it positive and keep building off of it.”

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Carolina has seven games remaining in Young’s rookie season, starting on Sunday, when the Panthers play the Tennessee Titans at noon CST at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

“We had the change here that we had,” Reich said. “You start to set things in place to make a change, and you want it to happen overnight. Sometimes it takes longer than you want. But you have to keep your head down, be strong-willed, keep the vision clear and come to work every day, and you’ve got to be able to fight your way through the tough times.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.