We are ten days away from finding out who will be the quarterback of the future for the Carolina Panthers. Many believe it's a two-man race between Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud with Young having the edge.
Really the only red flag regarding Young is his size. It's been talked about for months and it is something that will likely continue to be a topic of conversation throughout his professional career.
Panthers head coach Frank Reich has really only worked with big quarterbacks throughout his career. You know, the ones that boast a height of 6'3" or taller and weigh over 220 pounds. But that doesn't mean he is turned off by Young's short stature and slender frame. He believes he is worthy of being a top pick but did admit that the size is something he can't completely ignore in his evaluation.
"Yes, it is a concern. But look at Drew Brees. Look at Russell Wilson," said Reich. "So, are there very many quarterbacks his size that are high, high picks? No, they're not. But there are exceptions to that. Listen, everything that I've seen, every positive thing that's been said about Bryce Young, he's earned. He's an impressive young man.
"Highly intelligent. Very fast processor. Very poised. Accurate passer. Play-maker. He checks a lot of boxes. No moment's too big for him. Very good player. Seems like a great young man. I'm very impressed with him."
If anyone knows about laying crushing hits on a quarterback, it's former Panthers great Luke Kuechly. So what does he think about Young's size? Here's what he said during a recent interview on "The Mac Attack" on WFNZ.
“That size stuff is great—but if that ball’s coming out fast, it doesn’t matter,” Kuechly said. “Drew [Brees] wasn’t a huge quarterback, but he was strongly built. But you could never touch him. You’d get close to him, the ball would be out. And then he never took clean shots.
“Like, that’s the other thing, too. These quarterbacks—yeah, they’re gonna get hit, they’re gonna get bumped. But the good ones know—No. 1: how to get the ball out, No. 2: how to navigate the pocket, and No. 3: they know how to not get hit clean. I think there's a real art to that. Get the ball out, know what you're seeing, navigate the pocket. You're going to get hit every once in a while but as long as you're not getting hit clean, you're not getting hit square—and then with all the new rules that they have, you can't land on these guys. It's not an optimal size. If he was 6'4", 250, that'd be awesome. But I mean the guy is so good. He played at such a high level at Alabama. He's done if for a long time at that size. He knows how to play at that size. Not optimal, but he's a heck of a player."
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