Many folks have made the connection between Bryce Young and Drew Brees because of how they measure up from head to toe. But a Carolina Panthers legend cut that comparison off near the head.
Steve Smith Sr., on Wednesday’s episode of his Cut To It podcast, chatted with co-host Coley Mick and national NFL reporter Cameron Wolfe about the fantasy football outlook for the 2023 campaign. The franchise legend, once again, waxed poetic about the franchise’s new quarterback—stating what Young possesses in his head outweighs what some may say about his size as a whole.
“Bryce Young is not 6-1,” Smith Sr. said. “I’ve seen 6-4 receivers not be able to get off jam. I’ve seen 6-2 quarterbacks not be able to throw. Bryce Young reminds me of Drew Brees in essence of shoulders up and anticipation and knowing his own deficiencies. When a guy already knows his own deficiencies, I’m rooting for him because he’s not trying to be something he isn’t. He says, ‘Hey, this is what I am, this is what I’m not. I’m gonna stay in this category. I’m gonna stay in this area.'”
The 5-foot-10, 200-pound-ish Young has stayed in his area for quite some time and it hasn’t failed him yet. After all, it’s gotten him a Heisman Trophy and the honor of being a No. 1 overall pick.
As Smith Sr. adds—the 21-year-old passer is not always going to deliver the big knockout punch, but he’ll slice and dice his opponents up shot by shot.
“Bryce Young is not gonna throw you a 70-yard bomb off his back foot like Aaron Rodgers has ever done,” he went on. “But he will drop some dimes out there . . . in that zero-to-22-yard area that you’re gonna go, ‘I don’t care how tall he is or is not. That was a . . . shut the front door, that was a damn dime. Wow!'”
