Raiders draft Alabama DL Byron Young in third round
Former Alabama defensive lineman Byron Young has been drafted by the Raiders in the third round (No. 70 overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft. After a successful four-year career in Tuscaloosa, he’ll now be taking his talents to Las Vegas where he’ll look to be a part of their defensive rotation.
With this selection, Alabama has now seen six of its players taken during the draft. He joins quarterback Bryce Young (No. 1), edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. (No. 3), running back Jahmyr Gibbs (No. 12), defensive back Brian Branch (No. 45) and offensive lineman Tyler Steen (No. 65).
Young joins three other Alabama players in Vegas, too. Running back Josh Jacobs is the star of the offense after leading the NFL in rushing yards (1,653). But you’ve also got tight end OJ Howard and wide receiver Cam Sims, who both signed with the Raiders as free agents this offseason.
The 6-foot-3, 294-pound defensive lineman played in 45 games over the course of his four-year career at Alabama. During that span, he was on the field for 1,526 defensive snaps, including a career-high 548 of a possible 942 (58.2%) in 2022. He totaled 130 career tackles to go along with 20.0 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, three pass deflections, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
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The Raiders will have an opportunity for Young to get on the field early.
There are some decent options available on the interior of their defensive line with Bilal Nichols, Jerry Tillery and John Jenkins, but no one stands out amongst that group. Young’s versatility to play in an even or odd-man front should fit in perfectly with the hyrid defense Las Vegas uses under defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
Coming out of West Jones High School in Laurel (Miss.) in 2019, Young was rated as a four-star recruit. He also checked in as the No. 85 player nationally, No. 12 defensive lineman and No. 6 player from the state of Mississippi, according to the 2019 On3 Industry Rankings.
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