Getty Bleacher Report's Paul Kasabian didn't put much stock into the latest interested Bryce Young draft suitor
The possibility of former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young landing with the Las Vegas Raiders is reportedly not high — based on the passive attitude of Bleacher Report’s Paul Kasabian, who deemed the odds “slim to none.”
“(The Raiders) have a short-term solution at quarterback in veteran Jimmy Garoppolo, who just signed a three-year, $72.75 million contract with the team,” Kasabian wrote. “But they could opt to find their quarterback of the future this month. Las Vegas would almost certainly need to move up from No. 7 to pick Young, however, as many prognosticators have him off the board no later than the Houston Texans’ pick at No. 2. Las Vegas is doing its due diligence on the top prospects by having Young in, but the odds of him wearing Silver and Black to start his career are slim to none.”
Kasabian sees the Houston Texans getting Young after CJ Stroud goes No. 1 to the Carolina Panthers.
“Right now, most are still projecting Stroud to go to the Panthers, although it’s hard seeing Young slip past Houston, which is in need of a long-term franchise quarterback,” Kasabian said.
Bryce Young Has ‘Fans’ in Panthers Organization
Young is not out of the running to land with the Panthers on April 27 at the 2023 NFL draft according to NBC Sports’ Peter King. King shared an anecdote from the annual owners meeting in a report published on April 3 that explained Young’s “fans” in the Carolina organization.
“‘You’re the one who started that?’ Panthers coach Frank Reich said to me at the league meetings, about this QB-height thing I wrote about in March: Reich’s been a QB coach, coordinator or head coach for 17 years, and in all but six of the games in those 17 years, his quarterback was 6-4 or taller,” King wrote.
The debate was seemingly put to rest by Reich, as King shares.
“He told me height of the quarterback is not really a thing,” King wrote. “So the five-foot-10 Bryce Young and six-foot-three C.J. Stroud are both very much alive in the running for the first pick in the draft. And I believe him, absolutely.”
Bryce Young Height Hang-up ‘Legit’ Per Source
A longtime friend of Reich contradicted the Panthers head coach’s message to King — claiming that Carolina’s height hang-up for Young is “legit.”
“One longtime friend of Reich’s told me the height thing is legit with him, and though Reich hasn’t told him so, this friend would be surprised if Young were Reich’s top choice,” King wrote. “Reich’s not saying. The other thing I hear is several influential voices in the organization favor Young. That doesn’t mean Young will be the pick—not at all. This will be a collaborative choice, and the Panthers still have organizational meetings ahead to set their draft board with finality.”
Whether or not Panthers quarterbacks coach Josh McCown had a change of heart from a previous Young lean is unclear according to King.
“Before he took the Carolina quarterback-coach job, Josh McCown reportedly told friends he loved Young,” King prefaced before saying, “What that means after he’s studied all of the passers, I don’t know.”