As the NFL season winds down, FantasyPros will be taking a look at early NFL draft scouting reports before the combine in March. Here’s a look at Byron Young.
Check out all of our 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Reports & Prospect Profiles 
2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Byron Young (DE – Tennessee)
6’3″ – 245 lbs.
Background:
Walked on at Georgia Military College, posting 31-11.0-7.0 in 2019 and sat out 2020 (coronavirus) before transferring to Tennessee. Started from week six onward in 2021, finishing the year with 460 snaps and a line of 46-11.5-5.5, adding (per PFF) 17 hurries. Usage was heavier this past year and finished with 37-12.0-7.0 on 665 snaps.
Positives:
Has raised himself up by his bootstraps, making it to the SEC and playing very well in his first two seasons there. Has adequate size and a strong build. Typically a down lineman but will stand up on occasion as well. Plays the game with physicality, urgency, and toughness. Explosive movement skills. Sets a hard edge in the run game. Gets good extension to lock out opponents, with heavy hands to discard; has the lower-body strength to anchor at the line. Plays with discipline on the back end. Bull rush can give opposing blockers trouble on passing downs. Excellent leg drive on his bull rush to walk back opposing linemen; functional strength is much better than his size would suggest. Predominantly a power-based approach, but shows the first step to threaten the edge. Excellent closing burst to finish when he finds a lane. Has experience making some coverage drops.
Negatives:
Will be 25 years old on draft day. Didn’t take the next step forward this past year. May be asked to add a little bit of additional bulk, and doesn’t appear to have the longest arms. Reaction times to the ball being snapped tend to be later than other linemen on the team. Rush approach is heavily power-based at this point; still needs to diversify his repertoire. Balance issues crop up too often; can struggle to bend the edge. A little bit high coming around the corner. Doesn’t look like he has a go-to counter move; uses a spin, but it doesn’t have the most snap or violence. Overall tackling radius is limited.
Summary:
Something of a mixed bag in that his intensity, physicality and power are all outstanding, but he needs to get off the line of scrimmage faster, lacks variety as a pass-rusher, and struggles with balance/flexibility. The type of player you root for because of his background, but he is both raw and significantly older than many of his peers in the draft class. Would probably fit best as a strongside “elephant” linebacker in a two-gap defensive front, but may need to spend some time developing before he’s ready to be a regular contributor.
Projection: Round 4
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