Bryce Young Selected No. 1 Overall to Carolina Panthers

The Crimson Tide quarterback is the first Alabama player in the modern NFL Draft era to be drafted with the first pick.

After decades in college coaching and multiple championship rings, there are few milestones that Nick Saban has yet to achieve. Before Thursday night, Saban had never had a player taken No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft. 

That accomplishment can now be marked off the list as well as quarterback Bryce Young was taken with the first pick of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers in Kansas City. 

Young's selection marks the 15th straight year that Alabama has had a player drafted in the first round, setting a new record. 

The Panthers traded with the Chicago Bears to get the first pick in the draft back in March and made it clear throughout the draft process that Young was their target. 

Young was the top recruit in Alabama's 2020 signing class and lived up to the hype. After sitting behind Mac Jones in the Crimson Tide's championship season, he cemented his name all throughout the Alabama record books in his two years as the Crimson Tide starter, including becoming the first Alabama quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy in 2021. 

Over his three years in Tuscaloosa, Young threw for 8,356 yards and 80 touchdowns, adding another seven touchdowns on the ground. However, it wasn't just his play on the field that drew the respect of his teammates and coaches. The quarterback's leadership skills earned the honor of a being a permanent team captain after his sophomore and junior seasons. 

Young joins Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa as the third Alabama quarterback taken in the first round since 2020 after the feat had not been accomplished since 1976. He is the 42nd Alabama player selected in the first round in the Saban era. 

While Young may not have played with them, he will be protected in Carolina by two former Alabama offensive linemen in Bradley Bozeman and Deonte Brown. 

Alabama Quarterback Bryce Young

NFL Combine/Workout Details

Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports

No. 9
Position: Quarterback 
Height: 5101
Weight: 204
Hand: 0968
Arm: 3048
Wing: 7348
40: 4.70
DOB: 7/25/2001
Hometown: Pasadena, Calif. 
High School: Mater Dei

What They're Saying About Bryce Young

Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Lance Zierlein, NFL.com: "Slightly built with measurables that fall below the standard for the quarterback position, Young’s talent and face-of-the-franchise potential could force teams to focus more on his game film and less on his size. Young has had the advantage of working with a former NFL head coach (Bill O’Brien) who understands the challenges facing a pro quarterback. He’s a full-field reader whose confident demeanor on the field oozes off the tape but never becomes unbridled cockiness. He’s thoughtful in where he wants to go with the football and keeps the turnover count low. The deep ball is nothing special and his drive velocity fails to stand out, but he has enough arm strength to make the necessary throws. Young is perfectly capable of extending plays both inside and outside the pocket, but teams will want him to stay on schedule a little more often as a pro passer. He’s poised in the face of both physical and situational pressure and possesses a full offering of intangibles that helps set him apart from some of the more physically gifted quarterbacks in this class."

NFL Draft Bible: "A smart-accurate passer who doesn’t force throws and rarely makes mistakes. Lacks prototype size but sees the field very well, demonstrates natural feel in the pocket and can push the ball downfield with a simple flick of the wrist; has extremely quick throwing motion. His leadership (permanent team captain), anticipation, touch, knowledge of the offense and ability to move the chains with his feet would seem to translate to the next level. Young is a franchise quarterback in the making and potential number one overall pick."

Albert Breer, SI: "Bryce Young isn’t a perfect prospect by any means, but he’s the best one in a pretty good lot. And relative to other first picks (consider what Baker Mayfield entered into with the Browns or Kyler Murray with the Cardinals, or even what Jared Goff, Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence had at the start), Young should have a pretty good chance to hit the ground running in Charlotte."

BamaCentral Analysis

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The only questions anyone has seemed to have about Young have to do with his size. Being only 5-foot-10 and 1/8 inch makes it tougher for him to look over some linemen, and then the second-guessers consequently also wonder about his durability. 

When Peyton and Eli Manning openly dismissed both issues the public perception of Young being the No. 1-overall selection appeared to change. 

“He’s been playing at this height for a while now,” Peyton Manning said on "One the Clock," a draft-related series by NFL Films and Omaha Prooductions. “You figure out. Drew Brees figured it out as well as anybody, right? You find throwing lanes. It would be different if he was 6-4 all through college and now all of the sudden he’s 5-10. He knows how to do it.”

Said Eli Manning: “You can find the windows and find the lanes. He’s obviously done it at an extremely high level his whole career. I’m not worried about the height at all.”

Projection: This will probably be the only time we ever make this pronouncement, first overall. 

Alabama Crimson Tide 2023 NFL Draft Tracker