2023 NFL Draft: Is Alabama quarterback Bryce Young too short?

Feb 3, 2023 - 3:00 PM

The Atlanta Falcons are heading into the offseason at a crossroads, for what seems like the 4th year in a row. Even after Desmond Ridder’s four-game start at the very end of the season, fans don’t have a good outlook on who is leading this team in the future. Is it Ridder? Or did the team just need a cheap backup quarterback with a chance to start for a bit and found a worthwhile addition in Ridder still available in the third round of the draft?

The team isn’t saying, and per Josh Kendall of The Athletic, nothing is leaking on quarterback plans either. It is probably safe to say that the Falcons will kick the tires on top quarterbacks to, at the very least, perform due diligence. If a passer slides in the draft, you need to be ready to know if he makes sense for your team.

Or the Falcons could be considering a franchise quarterback with Ridder as the cap-friendly clipboard holder.

There are a few interesting quarterback available at the top of the draft. The most talented is definitely Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, who is, at the moment, widely expected to be the first quarterback drafted. Young is lauded for his playmaking ability, his accurate arm, and his ability to makes things happen even when there’s chaos all around him.

If he has a weakness at all, it’s his height and weight. That height is a concern as he’s listed at only 6-foot-0 — the same height as short quarterback Drew Brees. That can make it difficult to throw the ball over the middle of the field, but Brees managed to be an annoyingly successful quarterback in spite of that.

However, here’s Young standing next to a 5-foot-10 Kyler Murray.

Murray, a talented player who is one of the shortest starting quarterbacks since the era of leather helmets, nearly towers over Young. Is this simply poor perspective or does Young need to ask for help grabbing items from the top shelf at the grocery store? Sounds like it is time for a very serious Falcoholic investigation into Bryce Young’s height.

Another vertically challenged individual, Nick Saban, is generally believed to be a diminutive 5-foot-6. However, there is a possibility that Saban is wearing shoe lifts.

What does Young look like next to a more typically sized quarterback?

The answer is short. Alarmingly short. Ridder measured out at 6-foot-3, 207-pounds — a decent size, but he could definitely add some bulk to his frame. Based on this picture, it looks like Ridder could pick up Young with one hand.

He looks to share characteristics with undersized senior citizen Stetson Bennett IV.

I don’t have any analysis on the following other than Young appears small.

Here is Young standing next to the expected QB2 in the draft, CJ Stroud. Again, Young is listed at 6-foot-0, 194-pounds.

Young looks to be, at best, 5-foot-9 with a weight under 200 pounds. We are in Darren Sproles territory. That’s not to suggest anything about his career arc, as he has some absolutely eye-popping talent. There are some practical considerations with size limitations, for instance, can that player stay healthy in a league where defenders are delivering faster and harder hits for 17 games? Can he see over the line?

Whether fair or not, teams will be considering Young’s size. In fact, that may create a chance for the Falcons to draft Young if teams get scared off by his height and weight, especially if Atlanta’s willing to move up a bit. Whether Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith will risk their careers on a player so far outside of generally accepted quarterback size will be an interesting question for the next few months, but some team is going to take a shot is learn whether Young measures up and find out whether his talent can take him to greater heights.