Bryce Young 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Bryce Young will go down in history as one of the best Crimson Tide quarterbacks of all time. Following his junior season, Young declared for the 2023 NFL Draft. Despite finishing the season as a Sugar Bowl champion, and a top five ranking, the season was a let down by Alabama’s standards.

Young recorded 8,356 yards, 80 passing touchdowns, seven rushing touchdowns and just 12 interceptions across 27 starts. Certainly a decorated college career, Young won the Heisman for his 2021 season, was part of the National Championship team in 2020, and has earned the consideration for the number one overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Strengths

Magician in the pocket. Maneuvers in a way that avoids hits regularly.

Reads the field and processes at a professional level.

Anticipates openings, leads receivers to open spaces.

Throws with every available arm angle. Passes not batted often despite small size.

Elusive, but does not rely on running ability frequently.

Passer in all situations. Will take a broken play and take advantage of the scramble drill.

Weaknesses

Not just sort of small. Would be the smallest quarterback taken in the first round when taking account for both height and weight.

Surrounded by NFL level talent during Heisman campaign. How much of the success was Young versus Alabama as a whole?

Misses reads over the middle of the field if presented with interior pressure. Likely can not see over the first level of the defense.

Will never break a tackle. If an NFL caliber defender touches Young, he is getting tackled.

Throws off of back foot for no reason at times. Will drift backwards when not presented with pressure.

NFL Comparison: Patrick Mahomes hit with a shrink ray

Projection: Top-three pick

Bottom Line on Bryce Young

Despite being the early front runner for the top quarterback taken, there are some glaring red flags in Young’s draft profile. His size is not just a slight concern. This is not the Kenny Pickett hand debacle, there is a real chance Young is incapable of staying on an NFL field. Even if Young were 6’5″, he still is sloppy in his throwing mechanics and does not have the pure arm talent to overcome it. The resume and highlight reel throws have catapulted him into QB1, but exhibits trends that he may struggle with in the NFL. An NFL GM may be willing to ignore the physical limitations due to the extreme success in the SEC, but Young feels like a land mine for teams at this point.

Young’s landing spot will be a large determination of his success at the next level. Unfortunately for quarterbacks taken in the top three picks, those rosters are often devoid of talent.

Bryce Young Dynasty Outlook

Running quarterbacks rule the fantasy landscape. While no one will confuse Bryce Young for Justin Fields, he will still find small chunks of yards in scramble drills. In a superflex league, Young is likely a top three pick. The NFL draft capital ensures he will have a starting job for two to three seasons, unless he implodes a la Zach Wilson. While quarterback needy teams often have to reach, I would rather wait and take Anthony Richardson.

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