We have made it to the NFL Scouting Combine, and one of the top prospects in the draft is being nitpicked in one area.
Most feel Bryce Young of Alabama checks off every box as a quarterback. He’s accurate, precise, athletic, and poised. Young provides leadership, toughness, and can make any and every throw on a field. The California native has been compared to Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees, and Russell Wilson. He assisted Alabama to a national championship as a freshman in 2020, but Young set records as a starting quarterback. He became the first Tide quarterback to win the Heisman Memorial Trophy in 2021.
RELATED: Todd McShay says he’d be ‘scared to death’ of drafting Bryce Young after true height revealed
Young captured so much in his college career, but this week his height has come under fire.
ESPN analyst Todd McShay said he would be ‘scared to death’ to take Young if he was a general manager.
Other draft pundits see Young’s lack of ideal height as a major concern. Alabama knew Young was under 6 feet during his recruitment process, but the program listed the former five-star at 6 feet. Everyone can see Young is at least 5-10 or maybe 5-9, but his ability to see the field, process information, have great pocket awareness and spacing with his feet, avoid pressure, and make incredible passes should cancel out the lack of height. Alabama had no reason to lie about his height, especially when one sees how elite he is. Young makes everyone around him better. He elevated Jameson Williams and John Metchie in 2021, helping Williams become a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Metchie gained a second-round selection. Young overcame suspect play-calling at times from Bill O’Brien, wide receivers dropping passes, offensive linemen struggling to protect him, and a defense that was not elite as it has normally been. He put six receivers, including Jahmyr Gibbs, in a position to catch 20 or more passes.
Young also fought through a shoulder injury to record 3,328 passing yards and 32 touchdown passes.
Everything about him screams next-level quarterback, so the Tide did not have to fabricate his height. If you can do the things Young does on the field, then what makes height a huge deal breaker? He will not throw at the combine, but Young will have all the attention at the Crimson Tide’s pro day. It will be interesting to see what team decides to draft him in April.
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