(2023) Byron Young-EDGE-Tennessee

Byron Young

EDGE

6’3, 245

Senior

Strengths	Weaknesses
Really Good Athleticism Bendiness and Flexibility High Motor and Effort Pass Rush Arsenal Quick Learner	New to the Position Play Recognition Issues Lack of Polish in Most Aspects of his Game Older Prospect

2022 Statistics (Per PFF)

*(Ranking is out of the 241 EDGE/LB with 200+ pass rush snaps this season)

2022 Statistic	Total	Ranking *	Rank Percentile
Pressures	36	T-59th	Top 25%
Sacks	7	T-45th	Top 19%
Hurries	20	T-111th	Top 46%
Pass Rush Win Rate	11.5%	T-163rd	Bottom 32%
QB Hits	9	T-26th	Top 11%
Tackles	20	N/A	N/A
Missed Tackle %	15.6%	N/A	N/A

Write-Up:

Byron Young is a very intriguing prospect to analyze out of Tennessee. He played in 2019 at a JUCO program and sat out the 2020 COVID season before transferring to Tennessee where he has played the past two seasons. He has been fairly productive, putting up 68 pressures and 14 sacks in his two seasons with the Volunteers.

Young has been one the harder evaluations for me this season. His athleticism pops off the film when watching him; he has very good speed, agility and power, despite his frame being slightly smaller than average. Young has a lot of bendiness and fluidity in his pass rush moves, and also has a surprisingly deep arsenal of pass rush maneuvers despite his relative inexperience. His effort level is extremely high and is evident on nearly every snap. Again, despite his inexperience in the position, Young has proven himself to be a very quick learner and highly coachable. 

There are some major concerns with Byron Young that are going to hurt his draft stock. Despite showing development while at Tennessee, he is relatively new to the edge position and to high level competition, which did show at times when facing some of the top tackles in the SEC. While his development is a promising aspect, Young will already be 25 years old by the time of the NFL Draft. With somebody older, most teams are going to prefer a more complete player than what Young is currently. There are play recognition issues with Young, and he can often play “out of control”, and lose exactly where the play is flowing. He can get too overzealous and work too far upfield, leaving the edge vulnerable to counter rushes and can get faked out by read option.

Overall, Byron Young presents an interesting conundrum for NFL teams. There certainly is a lot of talent and potential with Byron Young, but how early would a team take a risk on an older developmental player? Teams will love his effort level, athleticism and pass rush versatility, but the issues with play recognition and overall polish to his game are big issues that are going to need to be worked out if he is going to succeed at the next level.

Draft Projection:  Late Round 3-4