General Draft Question: QB Bryce Young
 

If you were an NFL GM and you were looking at Bryce Young, would you take him?

He's a really good college QB. He reads the defense, he's accurate, and he makes plays.

BUT... Is he a "good for my franchise NFL QB?"

He has two major knocks: arm strength is ho-hum and size is atrocious.

So, would you pin your hopes on what might be a miniature version of Drew Brees staying healthy or would you rather roll the dice on a guy like Anthony Richardson or Will Levis developing?

The voices in my head tell me it's absurd to take this guy ahead of Stroud, Levis, or Richardson. For as much as "size matters" in so many cases with NFL players and their ultimate draft position, I keep thinking "why would NFL teams throw caution to the wind simply because he was kept clean in college?" I wonder what the situation would have been like had he played for Kentucky, like Levis, then for Alabama where there was far more talent and far less pressure.

For me it's:

1. Stroud
2. Richardson
3. Young
4. Levis

Him not weighing in at Alabama's pro day means 204 is not his natural weight...

I think Young may honestly be the most dynamic guy but he's going to have injury issues, CJ Stroud is the safest pick.

He's Tua, basically. I'd take him.

No way. At least not in the top 10.

I have the exact same rankings. Stroud to me is the best combination of size, talent and readiness. I have Richardson 2nd based on potential alone, he is nowhere near ready to play and start but as a NFL GM if I could create a situation where he was learning from a QB who I deem a good professional (ala Smith to Mahomes), I would be very comfortable betting on his athleticism.

Young and Stroud are neck and neck in regards to talent and readiness but Young's size scares the shit out of me. He sustained a few injuries in college when the talent factor most weeks was strongly in Alabama's favor, I don't know how Bryce holds up at the NFL level.

Levis to me is a worse version of Richardson. The arm talent is tantalizing but he also needs time to learn and adjust to the NFL. I don't know if he's Jake Locker or if he's Justin Herbert. Need to stress some patience with Levis and it seems like in today's NFL it is put up or shut up in ~2 seasons.

Drew Brees weighed in about 15 lbs heavier than Young did at the combine and he did a full workout. Brees didn't do the same gaming of the system that Young is doing.

The big question is whether the Texans will take him at #2. Casserio is an old Patriots guy and they use/used the old Parcells QB checklist where you have to be a certain height/weight/completion percentage, etc. I don't think Young, Richardson or even Levis make the cut using the old protocol.

I'd probably put Levis ahead of Young.

I'm just not a fan of Young at all. I just hear too much "he's a winner!" bullshit.

15 years ago he's Ken Dorsey. Why are we supposed to pretend like he's anything more than that now? He's an undersized player with limited arm strength. Yeah, he managed the game well - so did Ken Dorsey.

It's what you can do when you have better teammates 90% of the time.

I don't understand this whole 'Stroud or Young' argument at all. It's not close to me. And Richardson's tools are too loud to put Young ahead of him. Levis has better tools and solid production out of the SEC (on a bad football team) in his own right.

I just don't get the Bryce Young thing.

People are saying that the Panthers are out there pretending like they like Young so they can get the Texans to flip them an asset to swap spots and take Young so the Panthers can still get Stroud and an extra pick.

There's no way I take that chance. Because if I'm Houston and I can give up a 2 to move up into that 1.1 spot and take Stroud over Young, I do that without blinking. And if all I have to do to pull that off is pretend like I prefer Young to Stroud anyway - phew, that'd be some Machiavellian shit right there and I'm here for it.

I remember watching him vs Texas this last year. Texas got consistent pressure on him, and you could just tell it was new to him. And it did not look good at all

It reminded me of what Zach Wilson got exposed to. He DID look worthy of that second pick. But if you watched those BYU games he had a clean pocket all day every game

That’s what separates them from the Mahomes college film. He thrived under the pressure.

Young is the best QB in the draft this year.

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This is 100% true. Levis is the only one near reaching the old protocol and I do think that's the guy the Texans are going to take. I was just working a bit on my final r1 mock and I'm really quite stuck on how the QBs will go.

I know there's a lot of rah-rah around Young and Richardson but the fact of the damn matter is Young is a ****ing midget that played in the absolutely perfect situation and Richardson is highly inexperienced. This is the NFL. I wouldn't spend a top-10 pick on either of them. The real question is, does NFL brass agree with me or do they agree with the consensus?

If I were to mock how I feel they should go it would be something like this:

1. CAR - Stroud
2. HOU - Levis
4. IND - Hooker
11. TEN - Richardson
19. TB - Young

And then people would look at me like I'm a damn crazy person. And maybe I am. I just can't move past the size of Young. To me, taking a chance on Young's size is a much bigger gamble than taking a chance on the rest. He's 5'10" and 185 pounds. He manufactured himself to 204 just for a weigh-in, but we all know much better. He didn't get hit much in college. What's going to happen when he gets smoked in the NFL 40 times in a season by some big, badass mofos? Bad things, that's what.

Now, I'm sure I won't mock it that way and give in to the talking heads and drafturbators some but I just don't feel its the right move if a team takes Young or Richardson in those top 4 picks.

I'm sure I will mock it as:

1. CAR - Stroud
2. HOU - Levis
4. IND - Young
11. TEN - Richardson
19. TB - Hooker

I might even put a nugget in where a team like Minnesota moves up to 15 for Hooker.

Hooker is old though...I just don't see it but hey.