Byron Young NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for Alabama DL

HEIGHT: 6'3"

WEIGHT: 292

HAND: 11"

ARM: 34 3/8"

WINGSPAN: 81 5/8"

---

40-YARD DASH: TBD

3-CONE: 7.68

SHUTTLE: TBD

VERTICAL: 26"

BROAD: 9'

---

POSITIVES

– Takes on blocks with good pad level and a wide base when playing gap control against the run.

– Plays with his hands in front of him as a run defender and has pop in his hands and a lot of upper-body strength to get extension and lock out offensive linemen, which helps him reset the line of scrimmage.

– Against double-teams, he does a good job of attacking and defeating the man he's lined up across from to help hold ground or recover if the second blocker kicks him inside a little.

– Quick to recognize and get under pullers.

– Has little to no problems shedding blocks with his strength and violence, and he has a solid cross-chop move to help cross the blocker's face and escape if the running back bounces on zone runs.

– If he can survive and not get knocked off balance when slanting, he has a nice rip move to get penetration.

– Has a decent swim move that he can catch offensive linemen leaning with.

– Works the hands well as a pass-rusher to help escape and get sacks when the quarterback climbs the pocket or take advantage of linemen who stop their feet in pass protection.

---

NEGATIVES

– Drops his hands when pass rushing, allowing offensive linemen to get to his chest.

– If it's a passing situation or when he tries to penetrate or is slanting against the run, he stands up out of his stance and narrows his base, which diminishes the effectiveness of his bull rush and leads to issues against double-teams and combo blocks as a run defender.

– Doesn't have a finesse move that he can win with on the inside either. He will struggle to generate interior pressure at the next level.

– Lacks the agility and bend to be an effective looper on line games.

– Tweener body type where he's undersized for an NFL defensive tackle and not athletic enough to be an edge.

---

NOTES

– DOB: Nov. 10, 2000

– A 4-star recruit in the 2019 class, No. 77 overall, No. 8 DT, per 247Sports' composite rankings

– No major injuries

– 25 career starts

– 2022 Honors: Second-Team All-American (AFCA), First-Team All-SEC (AP)

---

OVERALL

Byron Young has an interesting draft profile. He's pretty impressive as a run defender and has plenty of strength to potentially carve out a role as a two-down player in the NFL. However, he is not a good athlete, which limits his ability to generate pressure as a pass-rusher, and he's not effective enough with a bull rush to win with power.

The best compliment I can give Young as a rusher is that he can take advantage of poor technique from offensive linemen, but expecting him to beat NFL competition consistently will probably be a stretch. With that, his scheme fit becomes a bit of a question mark too.

With his play style, the Alabama product would be best playing closer to the center, but there isn't a good track record of sub-300-pound 3-techniques who aren't great athletes. The wider he plays than that, the more his lack of athleticism gets exposed.

But if an NFL team is looking for a run-defending defensive lineman in the middle rounds, Young is a good option if the team doesn't think his size will be too much of an issue.

---

GRADE: 6.6 (Potential Role Player/Round 4)

OVERALL RANK: 127

POSITION RANK: DL17

PRO COMPARISON: Davon Godchaux

---

Written by B/R NFL Draft Scout Matt Holder