CHARLOTTE —A year ago, Bryce Young and Aaron Rodgers stood to the side of the field of a joint practice between the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets, with a world of expectations in front of them.

Young, the No. 1 overall pick and former Heisman winner; Rodgers, the four-time MVP predicted to take the Jets as close to the Super Bowl as they'd been in years. The history of both passer's subsequent seasons has already been well documented, but suffice to say, neither path went as hoped.

A year later, the two quarterbacks stood between two fields yet again—the Charlotte city skyline at their back this time—their respective teams around them, with fewer expectations, arguably more pressure and a load of hard wrought lessons from a year neither could have predicted.

And as Young put together what can be classified as his best practice to date, Aaron Rodgers advice to him from a year ago echoed.

"Be gentle with yourself," Rodgers told the rookie Young while in Spartanburg. "It's a long journey. It feels like every little snap and practice is the end of the world if it doesn't go right. It's just not true.

"It's a long, long journey. It's about holding on to your confidence, and enjoying the ride, and enjoying little things every day. But I think he's got a great head on his shoulders, and he'll be just fine."

Rodgers' advice was poignant at the time but has proven providential in hindsight.

The difference that must be acknowledged before any comparison is made, is that Rodgers' season came on the back end of a sure-fire Hall of Fame career; a career that began with three years on the bench learning behind another Hall of Fame quarterback. Young is looking to change the narrative after just one season, in which he was baptized by fire, brimstone and whatever else made up Dante's Inferno.

Young has always exhibited a calmness that belies his age, so whether it's years of nurture or Rodgers' words permeating over the past 12 months, he stood stoic behind the lectern on Thursday, with a concerted effort to not harp on what could've been of a rookie season that went 2-15.

"I'm grateful for all the experiences that I've had," Young said, confident in a message that he knew would sound cliché but believed anyways. "You can't replicate playing in games and playing a season and game planning and adjustments and personnels and things like that, being out there. So, I'm grateful to have a season under my wing.

"You know, there's always a what if, for any scenario, so I always try to focus on what has happened, what does happen, what can."

Someone who does know what can happen is Robert Saleh. The Jets coach was part of the staff that drafted quarterback Zach Wilson second overall in the 2021 NFL draft. Wilson played as a rookie, finishing with a 3-10 record as a starter (he missed four games due to injury) and a stat line that read: a 55.6 completion percentage, 2,334 passing yards, nine touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 44 sacks and a quarterback rating of 69.7.

After two years of Zach Wilson, the Jets brought in Rodgers. This offseason, Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos.

Comparatively, Young's rookie season, he went 2-14 as a starter (missing one game with injury) but finished better than Wilson in every other category except sacks: a 59.8 completion percentage, 2,877 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 62 sacks and a 73.7 quarterback rating.

"He just got thrown in there and he's doing a heck of a job," Saleh said of Young's first foray into the league. The biggest issue around Young's game was the inability to keep him upright. It's where Saleh sees an update for the Panthers in Young's second year, and a facet that can make a world of difference in 2024.

"The biggest key is, and from my understanding, they've done a pretty good job with it, just if you can protect the quarterback and give him a chance to play," Saleh said. "Personally, I think Bryce is going to be fine. He's going to be a really good quarterback in this league. Obviously, you're building a philosophy of a system around them, the players that fit the system of philosophy, a style of play. And I think once this organization gets all that in, I think he is going to take off."

Thursday was a good example of what the Panthers hope is that ascension, as Young flashed what originally made him a No. 1 overall pick. He uncorked a deep rainbow to David Moore early in the day. He polished his high point red zone balls, and utilized his legs to move in the pocket, out of the pocket and even into the end zone on a keeper. There were missteps, as there always will be against one of the league's best defenses, but there was also a palpable if tempered excitement walking out of practice that was a notch higher than normal.

Whatever happened Thursday on that field in Charlotte though, Bryce Young wants it to stand on its own, not in comparison to last year's training camp practice or last season's production – or lack thereof.

"I don't really compare anything to last year," Young stated. "Every year is a new year in this league. In football, you always got to go and hit a reset. So right now it's just been focused on what coaches are saying, and you know, embracing the system, making it our own as a unit."

And maybe there was some of Rodgers' advice from a year ago lingering and shaping his zen approach this second season.

"I'm definitely grateful for things he said," Young responded Thursday when reminded of the words. "I have a ton of respect for him as a player, for him, for all the stuff he's done throughout his career. So, yeah, that's definitely something, when someone like that gives you advice and talks to you is definitely something you keep at heart."

At the end of the day, as Young so astutely reminded everyone following practice, this was "just one day in – is it August?" Training camp brain is real, so he'll be excused not knowing the month. Still the point stands. This is just one day in a long stretch of days, with the hardest yet to come. But by remembering to be gentle with himself, enjoy the ride and keep his confidence, Bryce Young can put together a good day, then another, then another.

"When he gets challenged and the stakes rise, that's him," Dave Canales bragged of his quarterback. "He just stays the same and he continues to be accurate. And I love the way he handled today."