Bryce Young's Height Would Put Him in Rare First-Round Territory

The NFL Draft takes place this year from April 27-29. With over 250 players set to be drafted, there are pros and cons for every player, from those projected to go No. 1 overall all the way to "Mr. Irrelevant."

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The most important position in the NFL is the quarterback, and four guys are commonly looked at as the core of this year's draft:

• Bryce Young, Alabama
• C.J. Stroud, Ohio State
• Anthony Richardson, Florida
• Will Levis, Kentucky

All of the above players have projected strengths and flaws.

For Stroud, he's accurate but doesn't perform super well under pressure. Richardson is an athletic specimen — 6-foot-4, 4.44 seconds in the 40-yard dash, and a 40.5-inch vertical jump — but he didn't have a completion rate beyond 60% in college. Levis has all the tools, measurables and arm strength, but he didn't have the best college production.

For Young, the player scouts and draftniks view him as the No. 1 overall pick, as an almost perfect prospect, but his flaw is his size. Here, we'll examine Young's strengths and weaknesses more in-depth, but we'll also dig into his size to see how he stacks up compared to other players at the position.

Bryce Young's Height & Combine Results

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Coming into the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, the only chatter we heard about Young was his size. He measured in at 5-foot-10 and 1/8 inches and 204 pounds. 

With this, Young may not be a 6-foot-4 quarterback prototype, but he's also not the smallest quarterback in the world. In terms of height and weight, Young is reminiscent of current Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, who was the exact height as Young but weighed three pounds more. Murray, for what it's worth, is the shortest first-round quarterback in NFL history to date.

Another height/weight comparison is Johnny Manziel, who was an even 6 feet and 207 pounds. Both of these players were first-round picks, with Murray going No. 1 overall in 2019 and Manziel No. 22 overall in 2014. All three are Heisman Trophy winners, too.

Bryce Young on questions about his height. pic.twitter.com/e2kmow6zRt

— Carolina Blitz (@KeepBlitzin) March 3, 2023

While it's just a few pounds, Young would be the lightest first-round quarterback to be drafted in more than two decades. 

Bryce Young's Strengths and Weakness

During his career with the Alabama Crimson Tide, Young started two seasons and threw for a combined 79 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions. He had over 4,800 yards in 2021 but only 3,325 in 2022. That said, he did have 170 fewer attempts this past season and was a bit beat up, missing a game and a half with a shoulder injury. He also didn't win a national championship while at Alabama. 

Young operates well under pressure, can make all of the plays, and does an excellent job throwing his receivers open. Remember, he didn't exactly have the traditional stud top wide receiver that Alabama football typically has either.

In terms of weaknesses, again it's just the size. He tends to drop back into the pocket quite deep, likely due to his size and needing to see over the offensive line. 

Fortunately, he wasn't a historically small quarterback.

Obviously Bryce Young’s size presents a larger injury risk, but I’m not too worried about him taking big shots when this is what he moves like in space pic.twitter.com/9lyz1p155h

— Mike Renner (@PFF_Mike) March 6, 2023

Bryce Young's Draft Outlook

While his size can still be a concern, again it's not a size that's completely unprecedented. 

With that, Young is still deserving of the first overall pick. Compared to Young, there are simply too many question marks with the other quarterback prospects. 

Could we see four quarterbacks go in the top four to seven? Absolutely. However, Young is the safest option despite not being of larger stature. 

The Chicago Bears hold the No. 1 overall pick and are seemingly close to a lock of trading the pick. Whoever trades up to No. 1 overall will look to Young without question.

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