Many of the quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft are polarizing. Bryce Young isn't one of them.
The Alabama product is regarded as a safe bet to be a productive passer at the professional level. He was the best quarterback in college football over the last two seasons, and he should have a seamless transition to the NFL.
Of course, that's not to say that Young is without flaws. His size will be a concern for the team that selects him. But his floor is high, and that is why he is heavily favored to be the No. 1 pick in the draft.
What will the team that selects Young be getting? There are more than a few possible outcomes for his career, and most are positive.
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Here's a look at Young's draft profile and potential high-end and low-end NFL comparisons.
Bryce Young NFL Draft scouting report
Young has arguably the best skill set of any quarterback in the 2023 NFL Draft class. He was a two-year starter at Alabama and routinely impressed by showing off elite accuracy and an arm that will be plenty strong enough at the next level.
Young may not be big at 5-10 and 204 pounds, but he has a high release point on his passes that effectively makes him larger in the pocket than his frame would indicate. He doesn't get as many balls batted at the line of scrimmage as one might expect.
Additionally, Young demonstrates good mobility inside and outside the pocket. He is comfortable both stepping up to avoid the rush and scrambling outside to throw on the run, both of which will be paramount to his success in the NFL given his size.
That said, unlike some smaller, mobile quarterbacks, Young's first instinct when scrambling isn't to run; he keeps his eyes downfield and tries to find open receivers. That's part of the reason he gained just 162 rushing yards at Alabama.
With his field-reading ability, accuracy, arm talent and mobility, Young has the makings of a top-notch modern quarterback. That's why he has always profiled as a top draft pick and will be one of the first players selected in the 2023 NFL Draft — if not the first overall.
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Bryce Young stats
Young spent three seasons at Alabama. He earned the role of backup to Mac Jones as a true freshman. He threw 22 passes in relief of Jones that season before bursting onto the scene in 2021 as Alabama's starter.
Young won the Heisman Trophy in his first year as a starter after throwing for 4,872 yards and 47 touchdowns while leading a dynamic Alabama offense to a national championship game appearance against Georgia. The Bulldogs beat the Crimson Tide in that contest 33-18; it was the first loss of Young's college career.
Young's numbers declined his junior season as Alabama struggled to find replacements for departed wide receivers Jameson Williams and John Metchie III. Young still performed well, but Alabama was unable to make it back to the College Football Playoff. Instead, the Crimson Tide settled for a 45-20 thrashing of Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl. Young threw for 321 yards and five touchdowns in that game.
| Year | Games | Comp | Att | Comp% | Yds | TD | INT | Y/A | Rating |
| 2020 | 7 | 13 | 22 | 59.1 | 156 | 1 | 0 | 7.1 | 133.7 |
| 2021 | 15 | 366 | 547 | 66.9 | 4,872 | 47 | 7 | 8.9 | 167.5 |
| 2022 | 12 | 245 | 380 | 64.5 | 3,328 | 32 | 5 | 8.8 | 163.2 |
| Totals | 34 | 624 | 949 | 65.8 | 8,356 | 80 | 12 | 8.8 | 165.0 |
Bryce Young NFL comparisons
Best-case scenario: Russell Wilson
The more you watch Young play, the more his style will remind you of Russell Wilson's.
When Wilson entered the league, he was a unique quarterback. He was small and mobile, but he had the arm strength and accuracy to thrive at the NFL level. He was a third-round pick because NFL teams had concerns about his size, but he proved those to be unwarranted as he got off to a fast start in Seattle.
Wilson used his accuracy and mobility to win the Seahawks' starting job over Matt Flynn as a rookie. He was able to earn an advantage over his competition by playing in a similar manner to Young.
Both Young and Wilson are small but have high release points that negate the impact of that. Both also have a tendency to scramble in the backfield — sometimes in a Fran Tarkenton-style manner — to buy time to pass. They rarely look to run, always keeping their eyes downfield. They do everything they can to avoid hits in the event that they do make a break for it.
All that's to say that Wilson probably fits as a high-end comparison for Young, and it would hardly be a surprise to see Young emerge as a similar playmaker for the team that drafts him. His goal after that would then be avoiding the pitfalls that plagued Wilson during the 2022 NFL season, the worst of his career to date.
Another best-case scenario: Drew Brees
Wilson isn't the only high-end comparison for Young. He has also been connected to Drew Brees, another undersized passer with pinpoint accuracy.
Brees may not be as mobile as Young, but the former Saints starter developed elite ball placement in the NFL. Young did routinely that at Alabama, much like his predecessors Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones.
NFL.com's Lance Zierlein mentioned Brees as Young's best NFL player comparison, highlighting his "talent and face-of-the-franchise potential." It's easy to imagine Young commanding a locker room in a similar manner and using his arm talent and people skills to become the team leader.
Worst-case scenario: Doug Flutie
Some might wonder if Kyler Murray could fit as the worst-case comparison here, but the two don't have similar playing styles. Also, Murray's career is still in its infancy, so it's hard to get a read on what he will become.
So we'll turn back the clock a few decades and go with one of the NFL's first barrier-breaking short quarterbacks in Flutie.
Like Young, Flutie was a Heisman Trophy winner (Boston College). He shared many a similarity with Young, as you can read in this report that Bills scout Fred Schubach wrote about Flutie in November 1984.
Great, small, athletic. Outstanding foot quickness. Agile. Quick to set up. Bouncy and always moving. A wrist thrower. Good arm strength. A quick arm. Quick release. Throws side-arm or 3/4 or from any position. Good feel for rushers or finding lanes to throw through. Good timing. Good touch. Good accuracy long and short. Can throw all the passes.
Can zip it to the sideline. Can arm the ball. A natural. Can pump and hold and then pull a quick trigger. Great poise. Outstanding scrambler. Great improvising on the move. Always seems to be able to bide time. Great football instincts. Outstanding mental toughness. Smart. A leader on the field. Sometimes tries to carry the team by himself and will force it or make a foolish throw. One of the best I've seen but he is still 5-foot-9.
Certainly, not every trait in there matches up with Young, but both possessed the arm talent, poise and mobility that teams so often search for in quarterbacks.
Of course, while Flutie possessed the traits needed to become a good NFL starter, he turned into more of a journeyman. He couldn't quite hack it as a starter for the Patriots and eventually left the NFL to enjoy a long, prosperous career in the CFL. He would eventually return to the NFL in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but while he had a couple of nice years with the Bills, he was merely a solid starter.
Young's floor seems too high to be anything less than a high-end NFL backup, and that is effectively what Flutie was during his NFL career. It's more likely that Young will exceed Flutie's NFL performance, but if he struggles to adapt to the next level, he may end up being a journeyman, too.
MOCK DRAFT: Projecting where Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson other QBs will be drafted
Bryce Young mock draft
Mock draft projection: No. 2 overall
TSN's seven-round mock draft has Young being selected second overall by the Texans. Houston is searching for a franchise quarterback after enduring a 3-13-1 season with Davis Mills as its primary starter, so Young would be a major upgrade for first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans.
Young seems likely to be one of the first two selections in the 2023 NFL Draft either way. The Panthers are reportedly choosing between him and C.J. Stroud with the No. 1 pick, so Young will not have to wait long to hear his name called on draft night.
