Bryce Young's combine numbers squash size debate
Bryce Young has one less problem after his weigh-in on Saturday.
Young's size -- instead of his play -- is the biggest story of this NFL Scouting Combine, with many expressing concerns prior to Saturday's weigh-in that Young could potentially weigh less than 200 pounds.
He put that to bed by weighing 204 pounds at the combine.
His hand measurement isn't a concern, like the people who tried to make Kenny Pickett's diminutive hand size a disqualifying offense last year.
Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. noted Young's numbers are solid and answer a lot of the questions people have about him.
His height -- 5 foot, 10 inches -- is on the shorter side when it comes to QBs but puts him in line with former first-overall pick Kyler Murray.
While his career has been uneven, it's difficult to suggest Murray hasn't proved detractors wrong by reaching two Pro Bowls and winning Offensive Rookie Of The Year in 2019 while being the shortest QB in the NFL.
Others QBs including Super Bowl winners Drew Brees and Russell Wilson have shown over the years that being shorter than average for a quarterback isn't a reflection of ones talent. And as QBs like Paxton Lynch and Brock Osweiler have shown, being really tall isn't a sign a player is going to pan out, either.
Young addressed the concerns on Friday, a day before his official weigh-in.
He downplayed the worries by saying he's the same size at the combine as he's been his entire life, including while at Alabama where he threw for 8,200 yards the last two seasons and won a Heisman Trophy and an SEC championship over Georgia in 2021.
If there is one genuine concern, it's how Young's body will hold up after taking hits multiple hits in a season from 300-pound lineman, but even that is less concerning when viewing Young's sack numbers last season.
In 2022 at Alabama, Young was sacked 16 times in 375 dropbacks that resulted in a pass attempt or sack. To put that in context, his 4.2 percent sack rate on dropbacks was smaller than NFL QBs including Josh Allen (5.4 percent), Jalen Hurts (6.3 percent) and Joe Burrow (6.4 percent), according to data from Pro Football Focus.
Young's ability to evade pressure is second to none among QBs in this draft class and that trait will serve him well at the next level.
He already made one impressive escape by getting all those worried about his size off his back.
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