As he prepares to enter the NFL, former Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young has a pair of significant red flags. One is undeniably flapping in the breeze. The other is a little more fuzzy.
His height was measured at the Scouting Combine as five feet, 10-1/8 inches. That’s what his height will be for all of his NFL career, barring a late-life growth spurt.
His weight at the Combine was 204 pounds. But he didn’t work out there. At his Pro Day, where he will work out, he declined to get back on the scale.
There’s a little hocus focus going on with this. Young quite possibly deliberately gained weight before the Combine, in order to get north of 200 pounds. Now, for when he’ll be scrutinized as he moves around, he’s back down to his playing weight — likely well south of the 200-pound mark.
Weight is nearly as important as height for NFL quarterbacks. Short is one thing. Slight of frame is another.
Look at how Tua Tagovailoa was rag-dolled around in 2022, resulting in two (three) concussions after his helmet struck the turf.
So how much does Young weigh on the field? Listed by Alabama as six-feet and 194 pounds, how can anyone trust the latter number when the former number is clearly the product of tippytoes and/or heightening?
It’s a clunky, goofy way to obscure the truth. And the truth is that, whatever Young currently weighs, he fears the number is low enough that it will hurt his final draft position.