Tag: height

Carolina Panthers RB doesn’t believe Bryce Young’s height is an issue at the NFL level

Miles Sanders is the latest Panthers player to give Bryce Young his public stamp of approval

Much was made of [autotag]Bryce Young’s[/autotag] size and stature leading up to the 2023 NFL draft, but the reality is, he can play ball. Yes, his size could pose a greater risk for injury, however, his understanding of the game can not be understated. Young makes the right decisions when it comes to reading defenses and delivering the ball to open targets, but he also knows when to throw the ball away and when to avoid contact.

In recent years, we have seen shorter quarterbacks such as Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray both thrive in the league despite standing under six feet tall, so what’s the cause for concern with Young? During his time with Alabama, Young played in the SEC, the best conference in football, and had no issues dissecting virtually every team he played, including the famous 2021 Georgia defense. Carolina Panthers running back, Miles Sanders, believes that Young’s height won’t really affect him based on the things he has seen from him so far.

The newly signed Sanders shared his thoughts of Young on the Rich Eisen show saying, “I look at him and he’s very sharp, and on it with everything. He’s there early, he leaves late. His decision making is smart. He doesn’t force anything really. His pocket presence is what really stands out to me. So, again, the height doesn’t matter at all—I hope nobody’s worried about the height. But I like him, and we got a bright future ahead… His pocket presence is amazing to me,” he added. “You think he’s gonna get sacked, you think he’s just lookin’, he’s lost in there. But no—he got his eyes downfield and his release is quick, too. He lets it go quick and it’s accurate.”

Sanders is coming off of a Super Bowl appearance with the Eagles this past season, so I certainly trust his judgement when it comes to understanding the game of football.

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Rashid Shaheed says he’s getting ‘bigger, faster, stronger’ in Year 2 with Saints

Breakout wide receiver Rashid Shaheed says he’s training to become ‘bigger, faster, stronger’ in pivotal Year 2 with the New Orleans Saints:

It took some time for New Orleans Saints fans to get a look at Rashid Shaheed, but the former Weber State wide receiver made a fast impression. He made plays for the Saints all over the field: on deep passes, near the first down marker, and in the return game (and that doesn’t even get into his big gains on end-around rushing attempts).

Those efforts were enough to put him on the map as someone NFL Network daytime shows should interview during the offseason, and Shaheed was happy to oblige when NFL Total Access came calling. He shared his reaction to the Saints signing Derek Carr in free agency and his eagerness to work with his new quarterback.

Shaheed also gave a quick update on his goals in offseason training, adding that he’s been working out with Marcus Epps and other NFL players at the EBS Performance and Fitness Gym in Cosa Mesa, Calif., owned by Epps and managed by pro trainer Karif Byrd.

He spoke highly of the facility and the resources available to him, saying: “My body’s been feeling amazing. I’m getting bigger, faster, stronger with him and I’m loving my time out there.”

Now that’s interesting. Shaheed weighed in at 5-foot-10.5 and 185 pounds before the 2022 NFL draft, though the Saints listed him at 6-foot-0 and 180 pounds on their official website roster. He has long arms for his frame (measuring 31.1 inches) and could add more muscle to his frame. We’re speculating, but maybe Shaheed’s angling to play at a 190 pounds, or closer to the 201-pound average the Saints have preferred over the last five years at wide receiver. Regardless of his listed measurements, Shaheed already plays bigger than he looks.

His combination of size and speed is certainly an advantage. There aren’t many defensive backs who can match Shaheed stride for stride, and his surprisingly-large catch radius gives his quarterback a wider margin for error in placing an accurate pass. If Shaheed can pack on a little more muscle mass to help him better fight for contested catches, he’ll be even tougher to defend in 2023.

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Bryce Young’s weight reportedly a bigger concern than height

With roughly a month to go until the 2023 NFL draft begins, teams are still expressing concerns over the Heisman-winning QB’s size.

Former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young played two stellar seasons as the starter for the Crimson Tide. With a Heisman Trophy under his belt and countless other accolades, he now prepares to begin his professional career, but must first go through the NFL draft process.

During the evaluation process leading up to the draft, analysts and scouts detail every possible flaw in all the top prospects. With Young, there are seemingly no concerns with his abilities on the field. The only issue that has been mentioned is his size.

But what does that mean, exactly? Height and weight are both often important measurements, but should they matter when the player has proven that not meeting the industry standards in measurables hasn’t hurt him?

Young’s height has been a big talking point. He recently measured at just over 5-foot-10-inches at the 2023 NFL scouting combine and weighed in at 204 pounds at Alabama’s pro day.

Mike Garafolo of NFL Network recently revealed that the sense he got in Tuscaloosa during the pro day was that the height wasn’t as much of a concern as his weight.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Young and other former Alabama players as the 2023 NFL draft approaches.

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Seahawks rookie Tre Brown enters 2021 season with chip on his shoulder

Seattle Seahawks rookie cornerback Tre Brown enters the 2021 season with a chip on his shoulder due to outsiders’ doubts about his height.

The Seattle Seahawks selected cornerback Tre Brown in the fourth round of this year’s NFL draft and the rookie wants it known that he will not slip under the radar.

Brown joined 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny and Gallant to discuss his experience in Seattle’s training camp thus far and his adjustment to the game at the professional level.

“Right now I’m just getting my feet wet, learning a lot about the different changes of the NFL and how they do things,” Brown said. “But I’m sure when I have this down pat, I’m gonna definitely make a name for myself in this league, and I’m going to be around for a while.”

Pete Carroll and John Schneider have a preference for tall corners, but Brown lies outside their usual target height at 5-foot-10. Some thought Brown’s height caused him to fall in the draft, but he stated that he uses the doubts surrounding him because of his shorter stature as motivation to excel, particularly against taller receivers.

“It was something I definitely took as a challenge. Every day I face that, and so every Saturday I went against a receiver or whatever (in college), they had to pay for that. When you watch that tape after the game, a 6-foot-3 receiver vs. a 5-foot-9, 5-foot-10 corner, you should be pretty embarrassed because I locked you up that day. Check the tape. My height doesn’t matter. It’s a chip on my shoulder.”

Seahawks fans may be able to see Brown on the field very soon, as Seattle plays its first preseason game against the Raiders next week on Saturday, Aug. 14.

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WATCH: Nick Saban gives hilarious response to questions over DeVonta Smith’s size

Alabama is saying goodbye to DeVonta Smith as he enters the 2021 NFL draft, but questions regarding his size and his ability persist.

Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban joined the “Rich Eisen Show” today, where he was asked a question about the height, weight and overall size of Heisman-winning wide receiver, DeVonta Smith.

Smith, who weighs roughly 170 pounds and stands around 6 feet, 1 inch, is not as large as the other players at his position.

However, that certainly has not stopped him from being the most decorated college football wide receiver in history, and Saban is now making a case that teams should not shy away if given the opportunity to select him in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft.

Coach Saban offers a great explanation why Smith is a great wide receiver, but offers one line that is hilarious.

“The ball weighs 13 ounces, how big do you have to be to carry it?”

Saints fill out the roster with former Chiefs, Chargers pass rusher Anthony Lanier

The New Orleans Saints training camp roster is back at capacity following the signing of former Los Angeles Chargers DE Anthony Lanier.

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The New Orleans Saints hosted half a dozen free agents for a group tryout earlier this week following injuries to the front seven, with defensive end Marcus Davenport and linebackers Zack Baun and Anthony Chickillo held out of Friday’s full-contact scrimmage.

And it appears two of those visitors earned contracts with the Saints for the duration of training camp: per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, defensive end Anthony Lanier will be joining the Saints along with former CFL linebacker Wynton McManis.

Lanier, listed at 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds, fits the physical profile the Saints like out on the edge from a height-weight standpoint. He spent the 2018 season on the Los Angeles Chargers practice squad after breaking out for Washington in 2017, playing 339 snaps and notching 5 sacks, 10 quarterback hits, 6 pass deflections, and a pair of fumbles (one forced, another recovered). Lanier joined the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason but was released after the 2020 NFL Draft.

He’ll have a week to make a nice impression, but the Saints have a fairly stacked defensive ends rotation — depending on Davenport’s health. The Saints are not required to publish a formal injury report, so it’s unclear what issue he may be dealing with, but he was earning praise from all corners during training camp. Hopefully it’s nothing serious.

While Lanier’s addition rounds out the 80-man roster for training camp, the Saints could churn the bottom of the depth chart with more last-minute signings in an attempt at getting more time with practice squad candidates. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis spoke about the anxieties of evaluating players without extensive preseason game tape, so bringing in players like Lanier and McManis even for a week could help pad out scouting reports. The Saints must cut their roster down to just 53 players by 3 p.m. CT on Sept. 5.

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Where Russell Wilson stands in FTW’s rank of NFL dorkiest quarterbacks

For the Win’s Steven Ruiz ranked all the NFL quarterbacks in the league from coolest to dorkiest – see where Seahawks Russell Wilson stands.

Well, For The Win’s Steven Ruiz’ clickbait worked because I wrote this piece, you are reading it and we are all viewing his original content, ha!

Here’s how he started his post ranking all the quarterbacks in the NFL from coolest to dorkiest based . . . on aesthetics. Aesthetics???

“Look, I’m not proud that I wrote this,” Ruiz wrote. “But you clicked on it, so obviously it’s something YOU are interested in, too, so let’s not pass any judgment here. Okay?”

Ruiz clearly had some time on his hands when he pitted the league’s signal-callers against each other based on his very odd metrics. Curious where Seahawks QB Russell Wilson landed on the list?

All the way down at No. 18.

“This is actually a decent look, but I think this is where Wilson’s height hurts him,” Ruiz writes. “It’s not just that he’s shorter than most starting quarterbacks; it’s that he’s also wider than most quarterbacks. I can’t get that picture of him in the Hawaiian shirt out of my head.”

Not sure whether or not Wilson’s height and width have much to do with his dorkiness level, however, if finds a way to take Seattle to the Super Bowl this year, that would make him the coolest quarterback in the league.

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Tua Tagovailoa’s height an issue at 2020 NFL Combine?

The 2020 NFL Combine in Indianapolis is finally upon us. As Day No. 1 wraps up, that means we can start obsessing over measurables, which most people forget about after a couple of days. Former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is at the combine …

The 2020 NFL Combine in Indianapolis is finally upon us. As Day No. 1 wraps up, that means we can start obsessing over measurables, which most people forget about after a couple of days.

Former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is at the combine for medicals and interviews with teams, but he won’t be participating in any on-field activities.

In today’s measuring, the combine released these numbers for Tagovailoa:

The 2018 Heisman finalist’s height has never even a topic of conversation, until now.

Listed at exactly six feet, Tagovailoa is technically on the shorter side. He has been compared to Mike Vick, Johnny Manziel and Kyler Murray – all first-round selections that are considered short for a quarterback.

Granted, it seems like analysts find something wrong with every player’s measurables. For example, the big story out of today is Joe Burrow’s supposedly small hands.

Young quarterbacks have entered the league with high expectations and questionable sizes, most recently Kyler Murray, who was one of the shortest signal callers the league has seen in a while.

It’s important to remember this is all just something to hold everyone over until on-the-field drills, and Tagovailoa’s draft stock will most definitely not be hurt by this.

At the end of the day, regardless of height, weight and hand size, the teams will look at the kind of player he is and what he’s been capable of doing in the past while under Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide.

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