CHARLOTTE — The last time the Panthers went to Atlanta, quarterback Bryce Young had the best game of his young career.

He also had some older dudes around him.

And as the cast of characters has changed at wide receiver, the Panthers have gone through a period of adjustment offensively, for both Young and the receivers themselves.

Instead of having a 34-year-old Adam Thielen or an old soul like the then-29 David Moore as they did in January, the Panthers go into games now with an entire receiving corps made of rookies and second-year players. That's a whole different vibe.

So starting a 22-year-old Tetairoa McMillan, and a couple of 24-year-olds in Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker, with a 23-year-old Jimmy Horn Jr. and a 25-year-old Brycen Tremayne in reserve is a different challenge. And while it hasn't been evident in recent weeks, as the passing game has struggled to connect downfield consistently, they have seen it.

"The proof is in his ability to push the ball down the field — in practice we've seen it, we've seen it in games," offensive coordinator Brad Idzik said. "You go back to last year, he does a phenomenal job right around this, this stretch. I showed the guys a couple of clips from this stretch of the season last year when he started clicking; the guys had those cumulative reps. He was ripping the ball down the field.

"Not that you dip into the past, but you've got to be honest of saying, hey, throughout the season we get these accumulated reps in the pass game where there's a trust involved with that, that you grow and you show like, hey, I'm internalizing some of these near misses, I'm going to fix it, move on. You hit it in practice, and then it comes to life in the game, and I think that's going to be the case for us going forward down this last stretch of the season. I'm really excited to see it come to life. There's no bigger issue other than just addressing the things that have gone on and then making those connections happen on game day."

Again, a year ago, Young had the benefit of working with known commodities such as the always-in-the-right-spot Thielen or the trustworthy Moore. This offseason, they added speed and talent to the mix, but there's a period of translation as well.

And backup quarterback Andy Dalton understands that, because he's lived it.

When he was drafted by Cincinnati alongside wide receiver A.J. Green in 2011, the Bengals were in the midst of a hard reset after the final year of the Carson Palmer era culminated with a 4-12 record. Before escaping to Oakland following a protest/retirement and a midseason trade, Palmer was throwing to guys like 32-year-old Chad Johnson and 37-year-old Terrell Owens.

So Dalton and Green got chunked straight into the deep end of the pool, starting together from Day 1, and learned in a hurry all the things they didn't know yet.

"Experience is the best way to learn," Dalton said. "To be out there and playing and to do it and for them to do it right and say that's exactly how they want it and to mess up and be like, hey, no, on that look, this is how we need it.

"I say it all the time. I was so thankful that I got to play early on in my career and start as a rookie because I got to just learn and grow and try to keep improving.

"And they basically said, 'Go learn together.'"

It wasn't just the Bengals' first two picks that year (fourth and 35th overall; they weren't able to get a Cam Newton like the Panthers did that spring), but the Bengals put a bunch of young people together.

The rest of their receiving corps included a bunch of other kids, including 23-year-old tight end Jermaine Gresham, who was drafted in the first round the year before.

And they had some success, with Green catching 65 passes for 1,057 yards and going to his first Pro Bowl. But to get to the polished place they wanted to be as a passing game, Dalton admitted it took years. Green and Gresham both saw significant jumps in 2012, with Green earning his first All-Pro nod after bringing in 1,350 yards and 11 touchdowns, and Gresham making his first Pro Bowl.

"I would say probably the second year or third year when you get really comfortable," Dalton said. "You've got to be in the same system for a couple of years and all that. Also, for me and AJ there was constant communication. Hey, this is what I want from you on this, this is what I want from you on that.

"And, you know, I was trying to give AJ the ball a lot, which was a good decision, for sure."

Likewise, McMillan is playing the Green role for Young. McMillan was a top-10 pick for a reason, as Green was. And McMillan has 618 receiving yards this year, and no one else has more than Legette's 181. Of course, there are injuries to factor in, as Legette missed two games with a hamstring, and Coker was on IR with a quadriceps strain.

And Idzik acknowledged that a lot of this is going to take time, from making sure the pass-catchers have an open line of communication with Young, and fine-tuning their routes with him throughout the week.

But as Dalton experienced, there is no teacher like experience.

The Panthers had Thielen throughout the offseason before he was traded back to Minnesota, and then a lot of young players were thrust into new roles, and Young was throwing to guys learning on the fly.

And that takes time.

"There's a trust factor with guys that you know they're going to be in the right spot and they're going to run a route a certain way," Dalton said. "Just because you've seen it, you've seen them do it, and you know how they move, how they've reacted to certain things, and an understanding of coverages.

"That's one thing that those guys have that we're trying to build with the guys that we have here."

The building is the point. When head coach Dave Canales (a former receivers coach) looks at this group, he knows there is room and time for development.

"I love the energy," Canales said of having so many young options. "I love the way that the guys take into just improving their game on a weekly basis, and I love seeing that growth. The guys are hungry. It's interesting how, throughout the course of this season, different guys have shown up. TMac has kind of been consistently producing his own way, but Xavier will have a game, and I'm expecting a big game from Jalen Coker at some point coming up, as he continues to show what he's doing out there. He looked great again, blocking and looking fast out there.

"But at the same time, these guys understand that there's a lot of learning to do, and it's not just about knowing what the plays are, it's not just about, knowing how to run the route but it's also about the adjustments that happen when they do something you're not expecting and just being really decisive in those moments. And that's where I see our learning curve: the next step for us as a passing group is just being able to adapt, even though it may be a mask-type coverage where they initially appear to be one thing, but then throw something else at you. Those types of reactions come with time.

"It's time on task, and playing fast on your feet, and I believe that's where we're headed."