Despite a nagging shoulder injury, Bryce Young’s stellar game for Alabama football hasn’t diminished one bit, making him one of the hottest candidates looking to the 2023 NFL Draft in the eyes of scouts.
Given Young’s Houdini-esque escapes from the pocket, precise arm and impeccable leadership, there’s no shortage of teams drooling over his next-level potential.
In fact, there are even some teams that should start preparing to ensure they are in the best possible position to select Bryce Young.
Oh, let’s just come straight out and say it!
There are teams out there that need to seriously consider tanking for the Alabama soccer star. Carolina Panthers, anyone? After all, quarterback prospects like Young don’t enter the NFL draft every year.
That said, here are three NFL teams who need to start the tank for the Alabama soccer star.
3. Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are 4-7 better than in years past, but still not good enough to give fans visions of Dan Campbell hoisting a Lombardi Trophy.
And let’s be honest here. Jared Goff isn’t the long-term answer for the Lions quarterback. There’s a reason the Los Angeles Rams traded him away while they won.
And there’s a reason quarterbacks — in one of the least exciting quarterback drafts in recent memory — were repeatedly taunted in Detroit last year.
Given that the Lions are likely to pick a spot in the top 10 of the 2023 NFL draft, there’s a pretty good chance they’ll pick the quarterback.
Depending on where they end up, Bryce Young could be left behind. There have been some rumors that his size – he’s just over 6 feet tall and under 200 pounds – could cause him to fall off train boards.
That’s all well and good, but the skills abound. Dropping out of the top 10 would prompt Roger Goodell to send out one of his patented “random” drug tests to every GM in the league who passed the Tide star.
And the Lions, who drafted Young’s former teammate Jameson Williams in the first round of last year’s draft, would reunite the two in the NFL.
You know what to do, Dan Campbell.
2. Carolina Panther
Is there a team in the NFL that needs a quarterback? more than the Carolina Panthers? The Panthers have been embarrassingly bad at finding their next franchise signal caller since Cam Newton’s first term ended.
Heck, they were so bad they had to ask Newton to do it come back playing quarterback, an experiment that ended in a disastrous three-quarterback circus, with the now-fired coach Matt Rhule as the ringleader.
So yes, the Panthers need a quarterback. And Carolina, whose offense looks worse by the week, is in as good a position as anyone to lose on purpose.
The Panthers must admit defeat at this point and pick a quarterback in the 2023 NFL Draft. And not just any quarterback.
One that gives their loyal fanbase something to finally be happy about. One who will be a true leader and help get this franchise back on track.
The Panthers need Bryce Young.
1. Houston Texans
Full disclosure here. The Panthers would have been number one on this list based on quarterback needs. But the Houston Texans are first because they were better at losing this year, 1-8-1, than any other team in the league.
And they also need a quarterback badly, maybe as badly as the Panthers do. Deshaun Watson was her franchise guy, as pure a talented guy as anyone in the league.
But as we all know, Watson’s problems abounded off the field as he was accused of sexual misconduct by numerous women who worked as massage therapists.
Watson was eventually traded by the Texans — and they found themselves right back in quarterback purgatory, with the mediocre Davis Mills under center.
Fear not, Houston fans! Here’s a chance to find the next franchise guy.
If the Texans finish first overall in the 2023 NFL Draft–and only a miracle can stop them now–they have a choice between two really, really good quarterbacks, Ohio State’s CJ Stroud and Alabama’s Bryce Young Football.
Young, who led a Crimson Tide team to a 9-win season with arguably less receiver and offensive line talent than in previous years while playing through an AC sprained joint in his throwing shoulder, is the top quarterback prospect in the draft.
He can throw from the bag. He can throw on the run. He can run. He is smart. He’s a leader. The only counter-argument anyone can find against calling up Young is his size.
Drew Brees was short. Russell Wilson is short. It didn’t stop her.
That won’t stop Bryce Young either. If he gets the first overall pick, the Texans must pick him.