In principle, when a quarterback is getting No. 1 total hype, groups need all of the bins to be checked. Alabama quarterback Bryce Young will not have the ability to test all of the bins.
The 21-year-old is extremely poised past his years. He throws with NFL-veteran-level anticipation and creates off construction as a runner and outside-the-pocket passer naturally as any quarterback prospect since Patrick Mahomes.
Young, too, will likely be unprecedentedly small for the place as knowledgeable. Especially for a top-tier quarterback prospect. And that can undoubtedly scare groups contemplating the previous Heisman winner throughout the first few choices of the 2023 NFL Draft. But does top and weight matter on the quarterback place within the NFL? With Young, the reply is sophisticated.
Until Young is measured on the outset of his mix expertise inside Lucas Oil Stadium subsequent week, we can’t know precisely how small he’s. But being listed at 6-foot, 194 kilos is not an encouraging indicator for Young. In most eventualities, gamers are listed a contact greater than their precise dimension. Here are how some notably small, high-caliber quarterback prospects measured in at their respective combines over the previous 25 years.
Kyler Murray, 2019
5-10 1/8
207
Baker Mayfield, 2018
6-0 5/8
215
Russell Wilson, 2012
5-11
204
Drew Brees, 20016-0213
Ironically, it’ll ship shockwaves by means of the NFL panorama if Young measures in below 6-0 and below 200 kilos however ought to come as no main shock. Young appears that tiny on movie.
As an evaluator, I do not grade particularly on dimension alone on the quarterback place. Size, instantly, doesn’t hinder or elevate a quarterback on the NFL stage. It’s what usually comes with dimension — or lack thereof — that does both of these issues. Usually, giant quarterbacks have stronger arms and the alternative is true with those that lack dimension.
In the case of Wilson, Mayfield and Murray, they have been exceptions. Each had above-average NFL arms regardless of falling nicely in need of regular beginning quarterback dimension requirements. If you merely watched the speed of the ball out of their arms, or how easy they ripped it downfield, you’ll’ve by no means guessed they have been proper round 6-0. Brees was an outlier due to his lightning-quick processing and surgical accuracy, some of the hanging mixtures of that sort in NFL historical past.
The red-flaggy downside with Young is, he does not have an enormous arm and is not ridiculously correct with the soccer in any respect ranges. That scares me. There’s a distinction between being brief and being small. Young will doubtless be the smallest of the above group of quarterbacks and does not have a monster arm. Yes, he reads the sector nicely and does not have ball-placement points. He’s nowhere close to as correct as Brees was, and whereas he ad-libs awesomely, he does not possess Murray’s explosiveness or top-end velocity.
There’s no concrete proof that implies bigger quarterbacks keep more healthy than smaller ones, however a physique like Young’s feels extra vulnerable to harm on huge hits from giant defenders than a 6-4, 220-pound passer.
Size for Wilson, Mayfield and Murray did not trouble me. At all, actually. They all have been extremely productive quarterbacks with robust arms — by NFL requirements — and had standout quarterback traits. Young’s creativity, accuracy and anticipation are excellent. His arm power shouldn’t be particular. His change-of-direction is, however he does not fly, and to be a reliable scrambler in in the present day’s NFL, it’s a must to be actually, actually quick.
There are indicators that Young might in the end have a protracted, profitable NFL profession. He may very well be one other outlier. But measurables and traits are priorities in the course of the draft course of. And Young merely does not have basic measurable or out-of-this world traits, which make him one of many extra polarizing doable No. 1 total picks in a very long time.
