Bryce Young is accustomed to scrutiny. As the quarterback of the Alabama Crimson Tide for the past two seasons, every pass, hand-off, scramble, and sack taken has been under the microscope in the quest for college football glory.
In Indianapolis this week for the 2023 NFL Combine, the Alabama QB is under scrutiny once more. This time, the world awaits an official measurement of Young’s height and weight, with his diminutive frame the topic of conversation across the football landscape.
Update: Young measured in at 5’10 1/4” and 204 pounds at the NFL Combine.
Will Bryce Young’s Height Impact His Draft Stock?
There is no denying Young’s NFL-caliber talent. The winner of the 2021 Heisman Trophy plays the game with the poise of a veteran, the leadership of a president, and the precision of a surgeon. The Alabama QB can fire laser-guided passes on a rope to the short and intermediate areas.
When required, Young can create out of structure to a high level, with seven rushing touchdowns during his career that contain multiple game-changing scores where he has strapped the team to his back and dragged them kicking and screaming into the end zone.
Yet, the biggest question mark over his 2023 NFL Draft stock — and the most significant weakness in a battle with Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Florida’s’ Anthony Richardson — has been his lack of apparent size. The intensity of questioning grew with a comment from ESPN analyst Todd McShay to Albert Breer.
“If I’m a GM, I’m scared to death of drafting him.”
The quote got blown out of context on social media, failing to point out McShay’s analysis of the player and fixating on the information that suggests Young’s height will come in at 5’10 1/2″ and the expected ramifications of playing quarterback at that height in the NFL.
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We’ll find out Young’s height for sure at the NFL Combine, but should that really impact the draft stock of a player McShay describes as “special” while praising “the poise, the presence in the pocket, the playmaking, everything else you want”?
According to Senior NFL Analyst Trey Wingo, it isn’t Young’s height that is necessarily the most concerning element of the Alabama quarterback’s NFL projection.
“I’d argue the weight is more significant than the height,” Wingo said. “When players are trying to sack you as a quarterback, the weight and the durability, just the frame, alone. The height thing, I think people can get past. To me, it’s the slight frame that is the bigger concern for me.”
Alabama listed Young at 6’0″ and 194 pounds. He came out of high school listed as a 5’11”, 183-pound dual-threat quarterback. His college football playing weight is likely somewhere in between those two figures. Even at his Alabama-listed weight, he’d be the lightest QB at the Combine since Manny Wilkins in 2019.
While average isn’t an ideal comparison tool, the average QB across NFL rosters in 2022 measured in at 219.8 pounds and 6’2 1/2″, according to research by hortonbarbell.com.
While there have been quarterbacks enter the league of a similar height to Young, those that have remained in the NFL have been able to be durable due to their stocky frame allowing them to absorb more contact.
Young’s frame likely doesn’t facilitate a weight gain of anything anywhere near that NFL average. Meanwhile, an injury suffered against Auburn while scrambling last season appears to corroborate overall size concerns. Should they impact his stock? No. Could his size impact his stock?
“Yes, it is a concern,” Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich told assembled media as the NFL Combine got underway earlier this week.
“But look at Drew Brees, look at Russell Wilson. So, are there very many quarterbacks his size that are high, high picks? No, there are not. But, there are exceptions to that. And there’s good reason that there’s exception to that.”
How Does Young’s Height Compare to Other QBs?
Vertically challenged quarterbacks have been able to find success in the NFL despite size-related concerns at the position. Brees was deemed to be too small coming out of Purdue. Kyler Murray is still subject to social media memes over his height at 5’10 1/8″. Wilson won a Super Bowl after measuring 5’10 5/8″ at the 2012 NFL Combine.
How does Young compare?
I scoured nflcombineresults.com to find the smallest quarterback that was measured in each draft class since the NFL Combine became a regular feature in Indianapolis (1987) to see where Young fit in amongst his peers and how those shorter QBs fared in their NFL careers.
If McShay’s assertion that Young is 5’10 1/2″, he would be the seventh-shortest amongst the qualifying quarterbacks.
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Former Navy quarterback Chris McCoy is the shortest, measuring in at 5’9″ at the 1998 Combine. Murray, Joe Hamilton, Quinton Flowers, Dave Dickenson, and Mike Gundy were all shorter than Young. Wilson came in at 1/8″ taller, but with significantly more bulk to his frame at 204 pounds.
How many of them found NFL success?
Again, comparison is flawed due to the level of talent that Young possesses at the position. However, only Murray has had prolonged NFL starting experience, throwing for over 3,500 yards and 20+ touchdowns in three of his four NFL campaigns.
The Arizona Cardinals QB has missed time in his last two seasons due to injury, despite having a stockier build — weighing in at 207 pounds at the 2019 Combine. Another former Alabama QB, Tua Tagovailoa, was deemed “small” at 6’0″ and has had injury issues in the NFL despite being heavier at 217 pounds.
What Are Young’s Measurements?
After weeks of debate, Alabama QB Young was officially measured at the 2023 NFL Combine. While coming in slightly shorter than expected, his off-season program saw him make significant gains in the weight department.
- Height: 5’10 1/8”
- Weight: 204 pounds
- Hand: 9 6/8“