There’s been quite a bit of anticipation for Bryce Young’s second NFL season. In fact, much of that anticipation comes with excitement for a potential breakout performance.
But there’s at least one analyst that doesn’t seem to be onboard.
Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports recently ranked the league’s second-year quarterbacks by their likelihoods for a second-year jump. Of the five listed, he positions Young at No. 4—stating that a leap is “probably not” going to happen.
He wrote the following of last year’s No. 1 overall pick:
I just don’t feel it with Young. And what do I mean by that? Well, firstly, I didn’t see any flashes from Young as a rookie. You know, a few games– maybe not even consecutively — where he looked confident and poised and that combination led to quality results.
There was the 300-plus-yard effort late in the season against Green Bay that stood out. But even if that game was encouraging, it was thoroughly outweighed by disastrous performances. In my weekly grading project of the first- and second-year quarterbacks in 2023, Young had one “A” grade and two grades in the “B” range. All of his other starts ranged from a “C+” to an “F.”
That Week 16 outing, which resulted in a stinger of a 33-30 loss, saw Young complete 23 of his 36 throws for a season-high 312 yards and two touchdowns. But when it was all said and done on the rough rookie campaign, he ended with 179.8 passing yards per contest with 11 scores and 10 interceptions.
Traspasso continued:
Yes, that Packers game was impressive; it’s just too difficult for me to see him repeating that type of performance on a regular basis because of his lack of physical tools. He doesn’t have a strong arm by NFL standards. It’s not brutal, but it’s not doing him favors frequently. He’s a good athlete but not nearly dynamic enough to repeatedly make defenders miss or scamper away from oncoming defenders often. His accuracy and processing are his two strengths, but neither are so spectacular they negate his hard-to-improve weaknesses.
Finishing off the list is Houston’s C.J. Stroud at No. 3, Indianapolis’ Anthony Richardson at No. 2 and Tennessee’s Will Levis at No. 1.
