Since 2000, 368 quarterbacks have played in the NFL only nine have been shorter than 6 feet. Also being considered are three players still considered short by NFL standards at 6-1 - Max Duggan of Texas Christian, Jaren Hall of BYU and Dorian Thompson-Robinson of UCLA. In addition to Young, players who could be selected include Fresno State’s Jake Haener, Georgia’s Stetson Bennett and Louisville’s Malik Cunningham, all of whom are 5-11. The 2023 draft, in fact, may be remembered as the draft of the short quarterback. The ideal height for QBs has been smudged by the evolution of offenses - especially college offenses - and the ascension of athletic quarterbacks who can make more yards notwithstanding fewer inches. Or Florida’s Anthony Richardson, another first-round prospect who is everything Young is not - a physically ideal quarterback with a thin resume and questionable quarterback intuition. Think Troy Aikman, Tom Brady and Andrew Luck. The traditional prototypical height for an NFL quarterback is 6-4. The most significant is this - if a quarterback needs to have his uniform pants taken up, does that mean he cannot reach the heights of his profession? The history of undersized NFL quarterbacks answers some questions about Young. Jurgenson, whom Vince Lombardi called the best quarterback he ever saw and last suited up 49 years ago, probably is the only sub-6-foot quarterback who would figuratively pass the Parcells test. And it applies to all short quarterbacks.
The saying has its roots in Matthew, Mark and John, but Parcells borrowed it from former Packers general manager Ron Wolf. “He better walk on water,” Bill Parcells told The Athletic. And for that to happen, Young may need to do things his larger counterparts cannot. But if the hype is real, Alabama’s Bryce Young (5-10), the presumptive first pick of the NFL Draft, may stand above all other short quarterbacks one day.
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