Bryce Young has a simple message for teams that might be worried about his slight frame ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft.
In short: Don't worry about it.
The 2021 Heisman Trophy winner is considered the favorite to go No. 1 overall to Carolina in the first round on Thursday. Though he has done little to give teams cause for worry, one of the concerns that looms large over the Alabama quarterback is his slight frame. He weighed in at 5-10, 204 pounds at the NFL combine in March, raising questions as to how well he could stand up to punishment from NFL defenses.
But Young, speaking to reporters Wednesday, said he is only concerned with factors he can control — his size not among them.
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Bryce Young on the height question. “I can’t grow.” pic.twitter.com/cyPZyw8P4U
— Scott Fowler (@scott_fowler) April 26, 2023
"I'm confident in my abilities. For me, I don't know how to play the game another way," Young said. "I've been this size relative to the people around me for my entire life, and I only know myself.
"I focus on what I can control, and I can't grow. That doesn't fall into that category, I can't get taller."
According to ESPN, Young would be just the third quarterback of the common draft era drafted in the first round who is shorter than 6 feet tall; the first two were Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel in 2014 and Kyler Murray in 2019. He would also be the lightest such quarterback using official measurements dating at least to the 1999 NFL Combine.
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To draft Young first overall would be to disregard years' worth of statistical data and analysis. But Young's size has yet to be a concern, either at the high school or collegiate levels. Indeed, Young missed only one game during his time at Alabama, missing the Texas A&M game in 2022 after spraining his throwing shoulder vs. Arkansas the week prior.
Young completed 624 of 949 career passes (65.8 percent) for 8,356 yards and 80 touchdowns to 12 interceptions, the vast majority of which came in two seasons in 2021 and 2022. And, while Young did experience a significant statistical dropoff between those two seasons, he still threw for 3,328 yards and 32 touchdowns to five interceptions with what is considered one of the worst receiving corps in recent Alabama history.
Young has also played well against SEC defenses with NFL-caliber players, such as Georgia (twice) in 2021. Against the Bulldogs — who produced five first-rounders in 2022 and could have as many as three more in 2023 — Young completed 61 of 101 passes (60.3 percent) for 790 yards and four touchdowns to two interceptions, adding a rushing score. The Crimson Tide went 1-1 against Georgia in that span.
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One area that has helped elevate Young to be the prohibitive favorite to go first overall is his score in the S2 Cognition test, which purports to measure mental processing speed. His score ranked in the 98th percentile, better than other potential first-round signal-callers in C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson and Will Levis. It trailed only Stanford's Tanner McKee, who reportedly scored in the 99th percentile.
Regardless, Young won't have to worry much longer about defending his size in relation to his NFL draft stock.
