Potential First-Overall Pick Records Alarming Measurements at NFL Combine

The potential first-overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft is anything but the NFL prototypical passer. Alabama quarterback Bryce Young officially measured in at 5'10" 1/8 at the NFL Combine on Saturday, falling well short of his listed height of 6'0" in college.

Bryce Young measured 5-10 1/8 at the combine and 204 pounds. Good outcome for him. Clubs already knew what he'd measure. Weight was the bigger concern and coming in at 204 suggests he knew that.
— Chase Goodbread (@ChaseGoodbread) March 4, 2023

Young's size (or lack thereof) certainly didn't hold him back in college: he won the Heisman Trophy and played in the College Football Championship in his spectacular 2021 season.

Smaller quarterbacks have a mixed rate of success in the NFL. The gold standard is (and may always be) New Orleans Saints legend Drew Brees, who retired after the 2020 season as the NFL's all-time leading passer and a one-time Super Bowl Champion. He measured in at 6'0" and 213 pounds at the 2001 NFL Combine. Similarly diminutive quarterbacks Kyler Murray (5'10", 207 lbs) and Russell Wilson (5'11, 204 lbs) have also found success in the pros, but they sport mobility to their games that Young clearly lacks. Young rushed for 162 yards over his college career, while Murray totalled 1478, and Wilson managed 1421.

The achievements of Brees, Wilson, and Murray don't mean small stature isn't an impediment. Johnny Manziel (6'0", 207 lbs) was a disaster, and Baker Mayfield (6'1", 215 lbs) wasn't far behind. Success in the NFL is relative. In the current NFL landscape, a player the calibre of Murray or Wilson may not be worth all that much: Murray's Cardinals finished 4-13 last year, and Wilson's Broncos finished dead last in points scored. If they're the upper limit of what Bryce Young is capable of, teams must consider carefully whether that truly merits the first overall pick.