Bryce Young pro day takeaways: Alabama QB shows off elite accuracy but concerns about weight (not height) remain

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Jacob Camenker
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Bryce Young's pro day is officially in the books. The Alabama quarterback threw at the school's first of two workout sessions in front of NFL scouts, and the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner didn't disappoint.

Young was calm, cool and collected as he completed a script of about 50 throws during the event, and he was successful in doing so. He completed 44 of them, but only two of the miscues were attributed to him. Those were two deep throws on which he overthrew his receiver by about a step.

Thee other four misses came on two drops by Jermaine Burton and two deep throws that hit the roof/netting of the Alabama practice facility.

MORE: Highlights, breakdown of Bryce Young's pro day

All told, it was a strong showing for Young, and it certainly won't hurt his draft stock at all. Of course, it may not help it that much either.

Young was already viewed as a likely top-two pick — and probable top-four lock — so his pro day was just about making his case for the No. 1 selection. He certainly did well enough to remain in the mix for that honor.

That said, NFL teams will surely value the tape from Young's college career and his interviews more than his pro day workout. They may use it as a baseline by which to compare him to some of the other top quarterback prospects in the draft, but only so much can be gleaned from watching a quarterback throw routes on air.

Still, NFL decision-makers were able to learn a few key things at Bryce Young's pro day. Here are Sporting News' top takeaways from the event as they pertain to Young.

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Bryce Young pro day takeaways

Young's ball placement is his biggest strength

Young's accuracy was already something that stood out on tape, but his ball placement is truly elite.

Throughout his workout, Young was not only able to routinely connect with his receivers, but he was also able to hit them in stride. The ball almost always hit them just in the hands exactly where it needed to be. That allowed the receivers to move in stride while catching the ball.

That will be important for the next level, as that type of accuracy will allow Young to throw it not only away from defenders, but also set up opportunities for his receivers to generate yards after the catch.

You can see just how accurate Young was on some of his best throws of the day — one which was a deep shot and two which came in the intermediate range.

There was only one completion during which it felt like Young had missed his spot a bit. That came early in the session when he threw a pass to his receiver, who had to jump to catch the pass that came in high.

You can see that throw in the first video included in the tweet below. 

That being one of Young's worst throws of the day is certainly a win for him. Why? Because it was still an entirely catchable pass.

It also speaks to how consistently Young was throwing throughout the rest of the day.

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Young's arm is plenty strong enough for the NFL

Again, this is something that is known from the tape, but a lot of talk at the combine was about the cannon arms that C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson and Will Levis possess. There was less buzz about Young's arm, which wasn't viewed to be quite as big.

Even still, it was clear on Thursday that Young's arm is plenty big enough to make all of the needed NFL-caliber throws.

Young was not short on any of his passes at his pro day. Those that didn't hit the receivers right in the hands were overthrows. Receivers really didn't have to come back to get the ball or stop to make catches down the field.

This throw just about shows off exactly how good Young's arm is. He was able to his his receiver in stride downfield with a perfect pass while rolling to his left. He was essentially fading in the opposite direction of the pass but still managed to get it there with ease.

So, yeah. While Young's biggest strength might be accuracy and ball placement, don't discount his arm. It is plenty good enough for him to routinely find success at the NFL level.

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Weight remains a concern for Young, not height

Many will roll their eyes at the Bryce Young size debate, and with good reason.

Smaller-statured players have proven that they can have success at the quarterback position. Young was arguably the best quarterback in college football over the last two seasons and there's recent precedent for a player similar in size to him, Kyler Murray, to go No. 1 overall.

So, why are we still talking about this? Well, with Young, the concern is his weight, not his height.

Talent evaluators actually have fairly minimal concerns about Young's 5-10 1/8 height, per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. They are confident that his high release will help him transition with ease to the NFL level.

Indeed, that playing style description is a bit reminiscent of Russell Wilson coming into the league. So, that will help Young to potentially become a success.

Young's weight, however, is a bit more of a concern. Why? Because he is on the light side, and teams are often concerned about the durability of lighter quarterbacks. As such, measurements at that position carry more weight (figuratively and literally).

Young just weighed in at 204 pounds during the 2023 NFL Combine. That was close to Murray's size exiting college and was viewed as a win for Young.

As such, it wasn't a surprise that Young opted not to be weighed and measured at his pro day. However, that will create some concern that Young just packed on weight — more specifically, water weight — for the combine. He could have quieted those by weighing 200 at his pro day, but he instead decided just to throw.

There's nothing wrong with that decision, and it's certainly possible that Young isn't able to consistently crack the 200 mark. That said, it will make his weight a small concern that teams will have to consider before drafting him.

MORE: Bryce Young's size draws comparisons to Kyler Murray

The Panthers are going all-out in assessing their options for the No. 1 pick

The Panthers may have traded up with an idea of what they are going to do with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Even still, they are gathering as much information as possible as they look to make a decision atop the draft.

Carolina sent 11 members of its front office and ownership group to C.J. Stroud's pro day on Wednesday. That same party attended Bryce Young's workout Thursday and interacted with him.

Young reportedly dined with the Panthers brass on Wednesday night ahead of his workout. Then, at his pro day Thursday, he was seen chatting with Carolina's coach Frank Reich before his workout began.

And before he took the field, Panthers owner Nicole Tepper was seen talking to the quarterback and gave him a hug.

So, while there was plenty of buzz surrounding Stroud to the Panthers, it does look like Carolina is doing more than just its due diligence on Young. The Alabama quarterback appears to be in the mix for the No. 1 pick.

Soon, we'll see whether he, Stroud or someone else ends up being the selection.

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Jacob Camenker Photo
Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker is a senior content producer at The Sporting News.