2023 NFL Draft: How Could Tennessee's Byron Young Boost the Jaguars' Pass Rush?

Could Byron Young be the Jaguars' Day 2 pass-rush answer?

Author:
John Shipley
Publish date:
Apr 13, 2023 3:42 PM EDT

The 2023 NFL Draft season is upon us.

Among the 32 teams building their rosters to compete for the next Lombardi Trophy is the Jacksonville Jaguars, who hold nine picks in this season’s draft -- including the No. 24 overall pick.

As we march closer and closer to April’s draft, we will look at individual draft prospects and how they would potentially fit with the Jaguars. Instead of looking at any negatives, we are going to look at what the players do well and if they could match what the Jaguars need at the specific role or position.

Next up: Tennessee pass-rusher Byron Young.

Overview

A class of 2016 high school graduate, Byron Young spent time at Gulf Coast Sports Academy in 2017 after not being ranked as a recruit. After spending 2018 out of football, Young enrolled at Georgia Military College in 2019 and recorded 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks before the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The No. 1 JUCO edge rusher in the 2021 class, Young committed to Tennessee and started eight games, recording 46 tackles, two pass deflections, an interception, and leading the team with 11.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.

Young returned as a starter in 2022, starting all 13 games and recording 37 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and a team-best seven sacks, leading to First-Team All-SEC honors.

What Byron Young Does Well

Speed, speed, and more speed. Young is a prototypical speed rusher off the edge, using a lightning-quick first step from a wide alignment to force offensive tackles into high-pressure situations early in the play. Young has the speed to beat most tackles around the edge with his pure athleticism, which will be a benefit for any defense, especially against slower tackles.

Young's go-to pass-rush move is a rip-and-bend around the edge. Young explodes out of his stance to threaten the outside hips of tackles and is able to quickly transfer his weight and dip around the edge, using his flexibility to cut tight arcs and close in on quarterbacks after quickly winning off the snap.

Young's movement skills make him a stellar pass-rusher on stunts as well, especially when he is used on T-E stunts that allow him to act as cleanup. He has fluid change-of-direction and quick, balanced footwork to allow him to turn corners and quickly close on quarterbacks.

How Byron Young Would Fit With the Jaguars

If the Jaguars are going to commit to the idea of moving Travon Walker around more in 2023, then Young makes sense for their pass-rush plans in 2023. Young isn't the type of pass-rusher who can win inside/out and projects strictly as a speed-rusher who lines up in a wide alignment, so naturally he would only fit if the Jaguars are willing to slide Walker inside on a more frequent basis.

According to Pro Football Focus, Young spent 574 of his 665 snaps in 2022 lined up outside the offensive tackle, rarely aligning head-up over the tackle or inside. For the Jaguars, he would be a third-down pass-rush specialist who can line up wide and come off the edge with speed, but he isn't a versatile pass-rusher in terms of alignment.

One aspect of Young's game that does help his fit with the Jaguars is his ability to win on stunts. The Jaguars ran a large number of T-E and E-T stunts last year, and Walker's ability to win both as a the point-man and as the penetrator on these stunts could work well with Young's natural athleticism, bend, and balance in space.

Verdict

Considering his age and lack of first- and second-down value, it is hard to justify Young as a selection on Day 2. But if Young is still on the board when the Jaguars pick in the fourth round, it is a pick the Jaguars could easily justify. Young's first-step quickness and ability to win as a speed rusher could make him a situational pass-rusher who lands a few sacks as a rookie. Not someone you build the pass-rush rotation around, but a potentially solid No. 3 in the rotation.

For all of our 2023 NFL Draft profiles, click below.