One of the NFL’s top analysts surprised many fans with a surprise comparison for Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young.
NFL.com analytics expert Cynthia Frelund offered NFL comparisons for the top quarterback prospects in the 2023 draft. Young, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner, is widely expected to go either first overall to the Carolina Panthers or second to the Houston Texans.
Frelund compared young to Miami Dolphins’ starting quarterback and fellow Alabama graduate Tua Tagovailoa and, interestingly, to journeyman veteran backup Teddy Bridgewater. Here’s what Frelund had to say in her analysis:
“There are definite parallels between Young and the similarly undersized Drew Brees, which is a comp I’ve heard from many scouts and front office/personnel people that I trust; for example, in Young, I see Brees’ accuracy when making intermediate throws from a clean pocket and his center of gravity when running…
In addition to Brees, Young shares his accuracy from the pocket with Tagovailoa; both Young and the Dolphins QB excel at making plays with multiple reads and progressions. Tagovailoa (6-1) is taller than Young, but he is also outside of the current median range in QB height, and he was similarly prolific with the Crimson Tide.
Of the QBs selected in the first round who measure 6-1 or shorter over the past 15 years, Tagovailoa has the best passer rating (95.0), with a 65.7 percent completion rate and a TD-to-INT ratio of 52:23. Young’s passing platform is similar to Bridgewater’s in terms of hip movement and leg placement. In his two most recent seasons as a regular starter (2020 and ’21), Bridgewater ranked eighth in completion rate (68.1%) among those to attempt at least 200 passes. I also see Bridgewater’s change-of-direction speed on runs.”
Brees, a future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, retired as the NFL’s all-time passing yards and passing touchdowns leader. If Young ends up being anything close to Brees, or better, the team that takes him will obviously be in great hands for years to come.
Tagovailoa was taken fifth overall by the Dolphins in 2020. After up-and-down play over his first two years, Tagovailoa broke out in 2022 and helped Miami to the postseason.
Bridgewater, the No. 32 selection by the Minnesota Vikings in 2014, is one of the game’s better journeyman backups. He made the Pro Bowl as a Viking in 2015 and went 5-0 as the Saints’ starter (replacing an injured Drew Brees) in 2019.
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Bridgewater was Tagovailoa’s backup in Miami last season. He’s 33-32-0 as a starter with 75 touchdowns against 47 interceptions. Bridgewater has also played for the Carolina Panthers (2020) and Denver Broncos (2021).
