Alabama QB Bryce Young made a name for himself over the last two years, bringing home the Heisman Trophy in his first year as a starter, as well as back-to-back All-American selections. With a reputation as clean as his, it seems far-fetched to imagine Young won’t turn out to be a star at the next level, but with concerns about his size and durability making their way around draft circles, he will have to answer several questions both on film and at the combine in order to cement himself as a top prospect. 

The 2023 NFL Draft is a polarizing one at the most important position in the sport, so who better to start off with than breaking down the presumed top quarterback in this upcoming class. 

Strengths

On the mental side of things, Bryce Young has this whole quarterbacking thing figured out. He’s already able to manage the pocket, stay composed and feel the game better than many NFL quarterbacks do. Young is a gamer, and he makes plays under pressure that make you seriously question whether he has eyes built into the back of his head.

You hardly see Young get rattled the way many young QBs do under duress. As seen in the clip above, Young scans the field, feels the pocket collapsing and then proceeds to create space with his legs, all the while keeping his eyes downfield to find an open receiver. Despite being pressured 144 times last year, Young only took 18 sacks.

Young is also a sudden athlete, with a good enough ability to change direction to make NFL defenders miss. While his decision to scramble is questionable (see weaknesses), you can see in the play above that Bryce is able to stop on a dime, reset his throwing base and then deliver an accurate pass all in a matter of milliseconds.

Unlike Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones in previous years, Young will be able to escape the draft process without many questions about Alabama’s team around him. Frankly, this Alabama offense was about as weak as it’s been in years, with minimal skill talent aside from RB Jahmyr Gibbs. For reference, Alabama’s leading receiver, Jermaine Burton, would’ve ranked third on Ohio State in yards. Alabama was competitive this year because of Bryce Young, not much debate to be had there.

Weaknesses

Bryce Young is not 6-foot, and he most definitely isn’t over 200 pounds. Without being too speculative, we can charitably assume Young will measure in at the combine somewhere around 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds of water weight.

Young will more than likely play somewhere around 190 pounds, which would be pretty unheard of. In the last 35 years, Young would be only the third QB under 6-foot taken in the first (Kyler Murray, Johnny Manziel), and the only one under 200 pounds.

Bryce isn’t magically gaining four inches of height, and he doesn’t really seem like a candidate to bulk. Expecting him to join a bad team with minimal protection and maintain success just doesn’t seem like a good idea, and it’s hard to envision him staying healthy if he’s taking a ton of hits early on.

Young contributes to these concerns by creating a high amount of unnecessary pressure. You’ll often see him bail out of clean pockets, and while that can succeed at the collegiate level, it certainly won’t in the NFL. PFF held Young responsible for 32.4% of Alabama’s allowed pressures last year, which led the country by a decent amount.

Finally, it’s hard to get past the fact that Bryce Young just isn’t an elite enough athlete to make up for his size concerns. Unlike guys like Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson, who had elite arm talent and mobility to make up for a lack of height, Young’s arm is… alright? He can get enough velocity on the ball to hit tight windows, but he certainly isn’t a field stretcher. Think closer to a Derek Carr-type arm than Russell Wilson: fine but nothing to be excited about.

Verdict

Bryce Young will be the NFL’s ultimate test of tangibles vs. intangibles. While he looks as ready to start as any QB from a mental point of view, his lack of stature will be next to impossible to overcome. For Young to become a productive NFL QB, he would have to be the biggest historical outlier we have ever seen. If there was anybody to accomplish this feat, it would be Young, but it’s not a gamble many teams will be willing to take.

Ideal NFL Comparison

Joe Burrow cosplaying as Slenderman. Bryce clearly has “it,” but he appears to be more of a floor raiser. Burrow is also 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds. Interpret that however you’d like.

Projection

Top 10. Bryce Young is undeniably the best quarterback in the class at this moment in time, but he‘s better fitted to come in on a fringe contender that can get the most out of his rookie contract than developing on a rebuilding team. Vegas would be an interesting spot should he slide.