Bryce Young: 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

If your team selects Alabama’s Bryce Young in the 2023 NFL Draft, you should jump for joy!

After evaluating this quarterback (QB) in every snap he took in 2022, I can say he’s the best offensive player in this draft class.

Every time I look at him on game film, he looks better than the last time I evaluated him.

I am not a “box scout.” I don’t check off height, weight, and speed boxes.

I watch football players in football games.

Young could be Eagles’ QB Jalen Hurts and Dolphins QB Tua Tagovaolia’s little brother.

In fact, he reminds me of a combination of the two.

Here are five reasons this Alabama QB will cause serious problems for the structure of NFL defenses:

1. Sixth Sense

Young’s game film SCREAMS, “INSTINCTUAL!”

He has eyes in the front and back of his head.

Great anticipation.

Not only can he evade pass rushers, but he has this uncanny knack to know exactly where he needs to throw it.

Young is one of the most instinctual football players I’ve ever seen in my life.

2. Elite pocket escapability

Young looks like Houdini avoiding oncoming pass rushers.

This also increases the Mississippi clock.

What’s the Mississippi clock?

One Mississippi…two Mississippi…three Mississippi…four Mississippi…five Mississippi…

It’s the amount of time corners will have to cover the receivers as Young is back there running all around.

This is going to be a nightmare for NFL defensive coordinators.

3. Sees the entire field exceptionally well

As he’s running around like a magician, he keeps his eyes downfield.

This is where it gets really dangerous.

This is also when he tends to take deep kill shots as coverages are breaking down.

Young can also look one direction, then quickly snap back and accurately throw in another direction from the pocket.

4. Ball Placement

One of the best predictors of future NFL success for college QBs is elite level downfield ball placement – – and Young’s ball placement is on point.

Ball placement is different than completion percentage.

Ball placement is the QB throwing the ball to the exact spot where it gives receivers their best opportunity to catch it and then pick up additional yardage.

QB Mac Jones had this characteristic pre-draft, and it translated to a 67.6% first-year completion percentage and him ending up as the 2021 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year runner-up.

5. Ball protection

If you ask NFL coaches, this might be the single most important characteristic a QB can have. It’s the ability to not throw a lot of, “What in the hell were you thinking passes.”

In this latest four-game study (outside of the UL Monroe game) Young put the ball where it needed to be, and most importantly, he did a fantastic job keeping the ball out of the reach of defenders while it was in the air.

Young’s 79-12 touchdown-to-interception ratio over the past two seasons further illustrates this.

#9 Bryce Young 5-foot-10, 204 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Final 2023 NFL Draft Grade: First-Round (I would select him)

First Round Mock Big Board: QB1 (top-5)

Bust probability: Low

Projected by 99.7% (unchanged since March 29) of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of April 27, 2023 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

Previous articles:

Bryce Young Headed To The CFL?

Bryce Young Earns First Round Grade From Former NFL Scout

12 Games Prove Bryce Young is 2023 NFL Draft QB1

Previous 12 games evaluated: (2021) Florida, Ole Miss, and Cincinnati (2022): Tennessee, Mississippi State, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Utah State, Auburn, and Kansas State

Additional 2022 game film reviewed for this evaluation: APSU, Vanderbilt, and UL Monroe

2021 stats: 366/547 (66.9%) 4,872 yards (8.9 avg.), 47 TD, 7 INT., 39 sacks

2022 stats: 230/359 (64.1%) 3,007 yards (8.4 avg.), 27 TD, 5 INT., 16 sacks

Note: Won 2021 Heisman Trophy

Injury Note: Shoulder injury limited him during the 2022 season

2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Athletic and instinctual touch passer in total command with phenomenal pocket mobility. Fluid tempo. Determined, disciplined, and smart looking in his eyes. Convincing ball handling. Polished setup. Occasionally doesn’t go through progressions. Capable of quick decisions, or can take longer and make defenses adjust to him. Tendency to pat the ball pre-delivery. Good arm strength. Throws an easy ball to catch. Spreads the ball around. Capable of running, but he is a quarterback first and a runner as a distant second.

Final words

Plug and play franchise QB.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated New York Jets and he is the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.