Will the 2023 NFL draft run deeper at quarterback than the 2022 class? That’s the widely-held expectation after just one passer was picked inside the top two rounds of this year’s event, with a number of teams patiently riding out stopgaps and trials on quarterbacks who may or may not be their long-term answer. One of those teams is the New Orleans Saints, who haven’t committed much to Jameis Winston beyond this year. If he doesn’t show the development they’re hoping for in 2022, New Orleans should be in the quarterback market again in 2023. It’s up to Winston to play well enough their eyes don’t wander.
But one prospect to keep an eye on is Bryce Young. Alabama’s returning starter is on the fast track to follow his predecessors Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa as first-round draft picks. He finished the 2021 season ranked among the nation’s leading passers and has room to grow with another season leading the Crimson Tide. Odds are Young will eventually be drafted far out of the Saints’ reach (the latest mock draft from Draft Wire has him going to the Seattle Seahawks at No. 3 overall), but New Orleans could recoup the 2023 first rounder they traded early this year and then some should Sean Payton choose to coach a new team next year, bringing a king’s ransom to the Saints. So we can’t rule anything out.
And here’s an interesting thought from NFL Media’s Daniel Jeremiah, who acknowledged that while there isn’t a “clean comparison” here, one of the players he kept thinking of in evaluating Young’s tape was a young, Purdue-era Drew Brees. He said of their similarities: “Both guys lack ideal size, but they make up for it with elite processing and accuracy. I think Brees was a similar athlete at that stage of his career. They are pure point guards. The ball comes out quick and the placement is excellent.”
Alabama’s official roster lists Young at 6-foot-even and 194 pounds; Brees famously weighed in at the NFL combine at 6-foot-flat and 213 pounds, so yeah, it’s not a perfect comparison when there’s a 19-pound difference between the two players. But Brees brought underrated running ability with him from Purdue (he totaled 521 yards on the ground as a senior, with 900 rushing yards and 14 touchdown carries behind him in his Boilermakers career), which he was able to convert to all-time great mobility in the pocket. Nobody has eluded pass rushers in such a small space as effectively as Brees, and that’s something Young will be looking to learn on his own after taking 39 sacks last year, including 11 combined sacks from rivals Georgia (4) and Auburn (11), losing just as many yards as he gained as a runner.
That brings us back to the passing skills. Young excelled in throwing across the middle of the field at Alabama, which is something we’ve seen shorter quarterbacks struggle with in the past. But like Brees, his ability to read a defense on the fly and correctly anticipate where every individual receiver and defender will shift gives him an edge. Brees put the NFL on notice with his combination of anticipation and accurate ball placement, which opened the door for other less-than-tall passers like Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray to make waves in the pros. If Young can maintain his high level of play going into 2022 and beyond, he’ll join them and be a problem for even the gnarliest NFL defenses. It’s safe to say we’ll add him to our watch list.
