Todd McShay breaks down negatives with Bryce Young

Right up until the moment a team makes the call for him, former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young will be a divisive draft prospect. There’s no questioning his ability on the football field, his pedigree as a Heisman winner, and his virtuoso abilities to seemingly make a game unfold to his liking.

But the fact remains: He’s about 5-foot-11, 195 pounds. And for plenty of NFL teams that’s just not acceptable as they seek to make a major investment in their team, one they want to know can hold up to the physical beating of playing in the NFL. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay dove into it on a recent episode of First Draft, the networks draft podcast.

“Listen, I hear you. And I was in Tuscaloosa in October and covered his game against Mississippi State and he said he was up to 196. And he plans to be over 200 by the pro day and the combine. He’s a slender-framed guy. I get it. If you’re going to talk about a negative with Bryce Young, it’s his size,” McShay said. “Can he hold up in the NFL?

There are myriad arguments as to why a team could be wise to overlook the top line absence of size and burn a high draft pick on Young. Playing in the SEC is about as close a proximity to the NFL as a college player will find and while Young did miss a handful of games with a shoulder injury in 2022, durability has not been a concern. That is in part because of another point in Young’s favor: His knack for escaping pressure, eluding hits and picking the right spots to run the ball.

He’s as in control, aware of and commanding his surroundings as well as any prospect in recent memory. So much so that after acknowledging the negatives, McShay was right back on the table to beat his chest for Young.

“He loves the game, he has such passion for it, he is such a great teammate, he’s intelligent. He processes quickly. But the important thing with his game is the ability to feel pressure, understand where it’s coming from and just deal with it,” McShay said. “… Throw out the measurables, he’s just going to find a way to avoid contact and always be able to create and make that play that most quarterbacks can’t. That’s why I have Bryce Young as the No. 1 quarterback.”