5 quarterbacks Seahawks should wait to take in the 2023 NFL draft

Bryce Young, Alabama

Bryce Young, like Stroud, has played just one full year in college. Young did throw 22 passes in 2020 but this was mostly in garbage time. When asked to take over quarterback duties in 2021 after Mac Jones left for the NFL, Young did something no other Alabama quarterback had ever done: Win the Heisman Trophy.

Young was amazingly good and didn’t even show his full capability. He wasn’t asked to run very much, for instance, but when he did showed great ability to make tacklers miss. In the NFL, Young will need to scramble quite a bit more and NFL teams already know Young can likely turn that into a positive as well.

But Young is incredibly accurate with a strong arm and appears to have no weaknesses. The only one he might have is that he isn’t as tall as Stroud as Young is just 6-feet tall and 200 pounds. Maybe NFL will worry about him taking too many hits and if he can hold up?

But that would be the team’s fault and not Young’s. No team, given the chance, should pass on taking Young. He doesn’t put the ball into harm’s way – 7 interceptions in 547 attempts in 2021 – even though he is asked to throw the ball 20 yards or more a lot. 23 percent of Young’s pass attempts were of that distance last year.

Young has great touch at any distance but can also squeeze the ball into tight windows. Imagine him throwing to D.K. Metcalf for many years and how happy that would make Metcalf as his production numbers should be huge. Maybe Seattle won’t be bad enough to draft Young but there’s also no guarantee next year they won’t be.