“Like a PG in Basketball,” Nick Saban compares QB Bryce Young to legendary Drew Brees weeks before the 2023 NFL Draft
Nick Saban has high praises for his quarterback Bryce Young.
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Drew Brees, Nick Saban, and Bryce Young (Image via The New York Times, Fox News, and Touchdown Alabama)
The 2023 NFL draft is just a few weeks away and has created a lot of buzz, given the plethora of talent available at every position. For the first overall pick, the fight is between Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud. The Alabama quarterback refused to throw at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, which came as a surprise for everyone, but Stroud gave the scouts a tease of what he can do for their franchise.
The Panthers currently hold the first overall pick after taking the spot from the Bears in exchange for multiple draft picks. Ohio State had its Pro day a couple of days back and Carolina was heavily represented at the event. Quarterbacks coach Josh McCown had a great conversation with C.J. Stroud and it looked like they were going to lock him as their next franchise quarterback.
However, legendary college head coach Nick Saban believes that Bryce Young should be picked over Stroud. Alabama had its pro day on Thursday and during an interview, Saban drew comparisons between Young and former Saints quarterback Drew Brees. Saban said, “I sort of compare [Bryce Young] to Drew Bress in a lot of ways. …He’s so instinctive, he plays the QB position like a point guard in basketball.”
That’s high praise coming from one of the best coaches in college football and being compared to one of the great quarterbacks the league has ever seen. Bryce Young was initially projected to be the first overall pick, but after there were some concerns regarding his size, he dropped down, and C.J. Stroud was said to be taken off the board first. Young threw at Alabama‘s pro day and it didn’t look like his size was in any way hindering his ability to throw accurate darts down the field.
Nick Saban addressed the questions over Young’s size and said, “I think you should ask the people that had to play against him the last couple of years and see if they think it affected his performance.”
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Bryce Young has been a great quarterback despite his “size”
Bryce Young has had an amazing college career where he has won 24 of 27 games he started. Alabama won the 2021 SEC title under Young’s leadership. Despite what scouts feel about his size, the young quarterback won the 2021 Heisman Trophy and 2021 AP College Football Player of the Year. Drew Brees also wasn’t as tall as other quarterbacks during his time in the league, but still was better than most of them. He won Super Bowl XLIV and Super Bowl XLIV MVP along with several awards and records.
Nick Saban feels that Bryce Young can function at the same level as Brees and can bring in a new age in the NFL. Young’s teammate and a potential top-five pick Will Anderson Jr. also talked about the size issues everyone has regarding the star quarterback. “I don’t think he’s too short to play quarterback,” Anderson said. “He’s done a phenomenal job here at Alabama. I could put all faith in him to go out there and do what he needs to do.”
Bryce Young is similar in size to 2019 first-overall pick Kyler Murray, so it won’t be a stretch to say that given his resume he could be picked first overall by the Panthers. It all comes down to Carolina and their choice between Young and Stroud. It’ll be interesting to see whether Bryce Young goes first overall or not.
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Yash Karandekar
(1023 Articles Published)