Bryce Young's tenure as the Carolina Panthers' starting quarterback will begin right away, as head coach Frank Reich announced Wednesday that the 2023 No. 1 overall pick will start the team's season opener against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 10.

Young, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner, will become the first rookie quarterback to start for the Panthers in Week 1 since former NFL MVP Cam Newton in 2011.

“When we decided to pick Bryce we imagined and saw the vision that we would be standing here today saying he is the QB1,” Reich told reporters.

Reich's decision was not unexpected, as Young took over first-team reps from veteran Andy Dalton near the end of Carolina's organised team activities in June.

"I think Bryce has made good progress. You can just tell, he and the whole group on offence ... you can just tell everybody is feeling more comfortable with it. Certainly, Bryce is as well. So we feel good about where he's at."

The Panthers traded two first-round picks, including the No. 9 overall selection in this year's draft, and wide receiver D.J. Moore to the Chicago Bears in March in order to move up to No. 1 and take the diminutive but dynamic Young as their intended franchise quarterback.

Young earned that honour with a stellar three-year career at the University of Alabama in which he completed nearly 66 per cent of his attempts while totalling 8,356 passing yards and 80 touchdown passes with just 12 interceptions.

The 5-foot-10 California native won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore after throwing for 4,872 yards and 47 touchdowns in 15 games and leading Alabama to the College Football Playoff championship game.

"That's a huge blessing," Young said in being named the Week 1 starter. "For me, it doesn't change my approach. I want to make sure I take things day by day. There are a lot of things that I want to keep growing in, keep improving in.

"We are all as a team in this together."

Young takes over a Carolina team that recorded its fifth consecutive losing season by going 7-10 in 2022. The Panthers' streak of five straight non-playoff seasons is tied with the Falcons for the second-longest active drought among NFC teams.