ESPN draft guru reveals concern about Bryce Young
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ESPN NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper has revealed the main concern voiced by pro teams about Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young.
« It’s the 185-190, the weight, » Kiper said during an appearance on ESPN’s « Get Up » program, as shared by Dan Morrison of On3 and Stacey Mickles of The Comeback. « Can he withstand punishment at the pro level? We’ve never had this, in the top part of the first round a quarterback what, 5-10 to 5-10, 190 pounds. A great quarterback. Phenomenal. He does everything you want. »
ESPN lists Young, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner, at 6-foot-0 and 194 pounds.
« Now, he doesn’t have the big-time arm, » Kiper continued. « He doesn’t have the 4.5-speed. But Bryce Young would be the, I think, the number one pick overall maybe even to the Chicago Bears, even though they have Justin Fields if he were bigger. Bryce Young’s size is a huge factor working against him. »
Young completed 245-of-380 passes (64.5%) for 3,328 yards with 32 touchdowns and just five interceptions this past season. In his mock draft released Wednesday morning, Kiper predicted that Young will be the second signal-caller off the board and will end up with the Indianapolis Colts via pick No. 4. Meanwhile, Kiper mocked Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud to the Houston Texans with the second overall selection.
In a mock draft updated on Monday, CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson had the Texans trading up to No. 1 to grab Young. Chris Trapasso of CBS believes Young will fall to Houston and the second choice.
« Bryce Young might be historically undersized by successful NFL QB standards but we don’t care, » Wilson wrote. « He’s been that good for Alabama, dragging that team to victory just about every week. And he’s doing it with none of the playmakers that made life so much easier for Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins) and Mac Jones (New England Patriots) in previous years. »
