Byron Young NFL Draft Scouting Report

IDL, Alabama Crimson Tide

Byron Young is a senior interior defensive lineman that has played in more than 50 games throughout his career at Alabama. Young has the prototypical build that most NFL teams look for in an interior defensive lineman with a thick lower half and a strong upper half. Young appears to have natural dominant strength that allows for him to be a plus-level run defender.

Against the run, Young does a good job of shooting his hands and controlling offensive linemen at the snap. In Alabama’s gap control defense, Young does a good job of maintaining gap integrity by anchoring and controlling offensive linemen with his strong hands. Young also displays the ability to shed offensive linemen when necessary. Young appears to be more than proficient at locking out and shedding offensive linemen. Against double teams, Young also shows to be a plus-level run defender. Young has the strength to anchor against the double teams and has learned the technique of how to properly split double teams making running the football Young’s way difficult for offenses. Young plays with the strength and physicality to be an anchor of a defensive line run unit on the next level. 

Young being a limited athlete gives him issues in both the run game and as a pass rusher. In the run game, Young presents well against power gap run plays, but on zone stretch plays, Young struggles to move laterally and maintain his gap. Young is consistently reach-blocked by offensive linemen and struggles when he has to redirect to react to ball carriers or the flow of the play changing, showing balance issues and a lack of quickness to be able to put his foot in the ground and redirect. The limited athleticism makes Young a defensive lineman with limited range overall and potentially ineffective against blocking schemes that have heavy movement. 

Young’s limited athleticism shows itself in his ability to pressure the quarterback. Young isn’t a quick lineman at the snap, which prevents him from being able to get up the field with speed to pressure the quarterback. Young also lacks the ability to gain enough momentum with speed to convert speed to power and significantly collapse the pocket and affect the quarterback. At Alabama, Young executed twists and stunts but he appears to have some hip stiffness that prevents him from making tight turns and getting into condensed gaps that appear.

Overall, Young’s profile of being a physical prospect who can play well against the run will give him an opportunity to make an impact in the NFL on run downs, but there is a question of how effective he will be on passing downs.

Top Reasons to Buy In:

• Strong at the point of attack
• Physical run defender  
• Ability to take on double teams 

Top Reasons For Concern:

• Balance/body control issues 
• Range as a player 
• Lack of ability to pressure the quarterback

Size (NFL Combine):

Height: 6′ 3”

Weight: 294 lbs

Arm Length: 34 3/8”

Hand Size: 11”

Athletic Testing (NFL Combine):

40-yard Dash: TBD

Vertical Jump: 26”

Broad Jump: 9′ 0”

Short-Shuttle: TBD

Three-Cone: 7.68s

Bench Reps: 24 reps

Ideal Role: Interior defensive lineman

Scheme Fit: Scheme versatile 

TDN Consensus Grade:  69.50/100 (Fifth-Round Value)

• Sanchez Grade: 69.50 /100

Written By: Keith Sanchez 

Exposures: Arkansas (2022), Texas (2022), Ole Miss (2022), LSU (2022), Tennessee (2022)

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