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By Charlie Campbell
Weaknesses:
Summary: After being one of the most hyped recruits in the nation, Young had big shoes to fill following Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa as the starting quarterback for Alabama. Both Jones and Tagovailoa helped the Crimson Tide to National Championships. Despite the hype and big expectations, Young lived up to the billing, as he dominated the SEC in 2021 by completing 67 percent of his passes for 4,872 yards, 47 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Young and Alabama lost to Georgia in the National Championship game, but that happened after Young lost his top two receivers in Jameson Williams and John Metchie. The game could have had a completely different outcome had Williams not been injured in the first half. Still, Young put together a phenomenal debut for Alabama in 2021.
In 2022, Young completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,328 yards, 32 touchdowns and five interceptions. He picked up four touchdowns on the ground as well. Young dealt with a shoulder injury that caused him to miss one game and the majority of another, but he managed to play well at less than 100 percent coming off the injury. Throughout the season, Young put together impressive performances. Alabama should have lost to Texas because the Longhorns outplayed them, but Young put the Crimson Tide on his back and led them to a late comeback to steal the win. Alabama was down to Ole Miss before Young took the game over to lead his team to victory.
Young did not play his best in the loss to LSU, but he made some huge plays to put the Crimson Tide in front late in the fourth quarter and then to tie the game to force overtime. While Alabama lost to Tennessee, it was not Young’s fault, as he threw for 455 yards in that game.
Young also dealt with less talent at receiver in 2022 without Jameson Williams and John Metchie. Alabama’s scheme and play-calling from Bill O’Brien were poor as well, leading to lots of criticism from the fan base. Still, Young showed that he is a special prospect who is able to play well despite issues like those.
As a passer, Young is superb and very advanced. He displays excellent instincts and feel. With impressive intelligence, Young knows where all his receivers and check-down options are, which makes him very dangerous at working all levels of the field. His decision-making is very advanced, as he is skilled at avoiding turnovers and is not reckless with the football.
Young is an accurate passer who will lace some beautiful passes into tight windows to beat good coverage. With timing and precision, Young does a superb job of hitting his receivers on the run and leading them to rack up lots of yards after the catch. Many college quarterbacks don’t have Young’s confidence to throw into tight windows, much less his skill at doing it. Young is an an accurate passer in the short to intermediate part of the field, and he has excellent placement while throwing the deep ball. Young is an astute and dangerous point guard who can distribute the ball to rip up a defense.
While Young does not have an elite cannon like a Josh Allen, he has a capable arm that can make all the throws required. Even though Young is short, he sees the field well, and his knowledge of where his receivers will be leads to him doing a good job of finding the open receiver. Young is very poised and calm in the pocket. On top of his pocket poise, Young has ice in his veins for crunch time, and he is superb in the fourth quarter, making tremendous plays in the clutch.
On top of his passing ability, Young is a good athlete who offers dangerous mobility and superb escapability. He does a nice job of climbing the pocket, keeping his eyes downfield while getting pressured, and throwing well on the run. When plays break down, Young can run for yardage to move the chains, but he wisely looks to throw while scrambling. With his mobility and feet to run around, Young is capable to make plays off script and ad lib to create big plays.
Young has everything the NFL is looking for in a quarterback except in terms of weight and height. If he were a little taller and thicker, teams would view Young similar to how they viewed quarterbacks like Andrew Luck and Trevor Lawrence. Even with the size and durability concerns, teams like Young and he is viewed as a legit high first-rounder and future franchise quarterback.
Player Comparison: Kyler Murray. Young is like a thinner version of Murray. Young is more accurate and has more natural passing instincts, while Murray possesses a better build for the NFL. Young also has better intangibles than Murray. In the NFL, I could see Young being similar and better than Murray.
RELATED LINKS:
2023 NFL Mock Draft: Charlie’s | Walt’s
2023 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings
2023 NFL Draft Scouting Reports
NFL Picks - Nov. 20
2025 NFL Mock Draft - Nov. 20
NFL Power Rankings - Nov. 19
Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 4
