Panthers select quarterback Bryce Young with first overall pick in ...

"Nutritionally, we can do some things to educate him. We get him in the weight room," Fitterer said. "You can see when you really look at his lower body, his lower body's gotten bigger. He's put on a lot of mass down there. A lot of times, quarterbacks don't want to lift the upper body because you get a little bit bound-up. But there are some things, he's going to naturally put on size as he ages as well."

Early in the pre-draft narrative, the fact that Reich had only worked with taller quarterbacks became a talking point. Of course, Pete Carroll likely hadn't worked with many smaller quarterbacks before he met Russell Wilson (who was drafted in Seattle when Fitterer was there), or Sean Payton before he worked with Drew Brees.

"If I was looking at it through a positive lens, I would say I played with (or coached) guys that were smaller for their position that had a great ability to stay healthy," Reich said last month. "Marvin Harrison, as a receiver, just had this incredible ability to never take big hits. I played with Barry Sanders. He had this knack of not taking the big hits. . . .

"I think he (Young) is good at being instinctive in the pocket and minimizing — if you're a quarterback, can you minimize the number of hits you're taking and the intensity of those hits? Because you're going to get hit, we all know that. But there's a way to minimize those hits. And you feel it, and you're instinctive."

Young's instincts are what they're banking on now.

His ability to recognize and process information at the line of scrimmage is already legendary. He played in a pro-style offense at Alabama with a longtime NFL play-caller (Bill O'Brien), and has shown his ability to both orchestrate a game and improvise.

He's also done it with humility, the ability to carry himself into big situations around (much) bigger men and lead them.

Smith has met with Young a few times lately in the context of his job as an NFL Network analyst and told Young after his pro day he was convinced he deserved to be picked first overall.

"He played at the highest level, he won the Heisman, and he's played against some pretty stellar competition," Smith said, mentioning that from talking to Young about his family, he believes those lessons came from home.

"Like I said," Smith said flatly. "I think he has been set up to be very successful."

That's what the Panthers are hoping for.