Throughout his college career at Alabama, Bryce Young set records worthy of the history books. Thursday night he did it again when the Carolina Panthers selected him with the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, becoming the first Alabama player in the modern NFL era to be selected No. 1 overall.
Two other former Alabama players have been drafted No. 1 overall, but both occurred before the merge of the National Football League and the American Football League in 1970 that formed the NFL that we know today. Halfback Harry Gilmer was picked first by Washington in 1948 in the pre-merged NFL, and former Alabama quarterback Joe Nammath was selected by the New York Jets with the No. 1 pick in the 1965 American Football League Draft, also before the merger.
In Young’s sophomore season, he became the fourth Alabama player and first-ever quarterback from Alabama to win the Heisman Trophy. During his 2021 season, he set school records with 4,872 passing yards and 47 passing touchdowns in a single season. Young also holds the Crimson Tide record for most passing yards in a game when he threw for 559 yards against Arkansas.
Last season was not Young’s best season statistically, but despite missing a game and a half with a shoulder injury, he still managed to throw for 3,328 yards and 32 touchdowns, completing 64.5% of his passes. Young’s 8,356 career passing yards and 80 touchdowns place him second in the Alabama record books.
Bryce Young came into the 2023 NFL Draft as the most talented and NFL-ready quarterback on the board, but despite all the talent, some critics had questions about his size and durability as he measured in at 5-foot-10, 204 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine. Many experts, as well as Nick Saban, have made his height comparisons to Drew Brees and the success he had in the NFL despite being sub six feet.
“There’s really no negatives,” coach Nick Saban said. “The only negative that anybody can bring is what is his height? Drew Brees was always the biggest nemesis Nick Saban ever had, whether it was at Michigan State when he was at Purdue or in the NFL, and he was 5-11-something. I don’t think it’s an issue. It wasn’t an issue in his college career. And he’s going to play against some of the same players in that league that he’s played against in the SEC. We think he’s fantastic, and hopefully, he has a great career.”
The last time the Carolina Panthers had the No.1 overall selection was in 2011 when they took former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton who won MVP as well as led the Panthers to the Super Bowl in 2015.
Young should start right away with Carolina as he joins a quarterback room that his biggest threat is Andy Dalton. If Bryce Young does win the starting quarterback job in the upcoming season, he will become one of four former Alabama quarterbacks starting in the NFL currently joining Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, and Jalen Hurts.
After Bryce Young was picked, it didn’t take too much longer for Will Anderson Jr. to hear his name called. The Houston Texans chose to take Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud with the No. 2 overall pick, and then made a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for the No. 3 pick to select the decorated Alabama linebacker. With Young going No.1 and Anderson Jr. No. 3, this makes the first time Nick Saban has had multiple players taken in the first five picks of the NFL Draft.
The next and third Alabama player taken off the board was a bit of a shocker. With the No. 12 overall pick, the Detroit Lions selected running back Jahmyr Gibbs, the second running back selected in the 2023 NFL Draft.
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