Texans HC addresses Bryce Young size concerns ahead of draft
New Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans sounds unbothered regarding size concerns hovering over the status of Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young ahead of the upcoming NFL Draft.
“I know there’s a lot of talk about his size, but the guy’s done it at the highest level of college football, and size doesn’t seem to be a problem,” Ryans said, as shared by Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. “I don’t see it as an issue because I watch the tape. You put on the tape, and you see how smart he is—the anticipation, the accuracy, how this guy’s calm in critical moments. When you see those things, size isn’t one of the factors you look at and say, ‘Oh, man, it’s a problem.’ You just look at the track record and see what he’s done in the SEC and how successful he was, and I think he’ll be successful in the NFL as well.”
Young measured in at 5-foot-10 1/8 and 204 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine. He declined to weigh in before he began his throwing session at Alabama’s pro day last week, and that decision caused many to assume he was under 200 pounds at that time.
As Williams pointed out, Young missed only one game in his two years as Alabama’s QB1 due to injury. He sat out a contest versus the Texas A&M Aggies because of a shoulder issue this past October.
For what it’s worth, Ryans also played college football at Alabama.
“Can those other 10 guys look at you in the huddle and know that, ‘We can count on this guy to make a play? We believe in him?’ And then you have to look at [your] defensive guys, and can they count on him? Is that quarterback the guy that can galvanize a locker room, rally the troops and get guys to believe in him? That’s the trait, and it’s easier said than done because so few guys can do that,” Ryans said about what he’s looking for in a hoped-to-be franchise quarterback. “They’re special guys.”
The Carolina Panthers traded with the Chicago Bears to land the first overall pick in this year’s draft. In a mock draft updated last Tuesday, Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN predicted that Carolina will use that asset to acquire Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud. Kiper also forecasted that Houston will take Young with the second pick.
“No, he doesn’t have ideal size, and at 5-foot-10, 204 pounds, he’s going to become the third under-6-foot signal-caller drafted in round one,” Kiper wrote about Young. “But turn on the tape and watch him maneuver the pocket, find passing lanes and drop dimes all over the field. He’s legit.”
