Colbie Young NFL Draft Scouting Report

Colbie Young’s size allows him to be a productive middle-of-the-field target or a red zone threat, dominating in one-on-one opportunities.

Draft Grade: Round 4 - Developmental Traits

Strengths:

Frame/Size: Young's frame and size allow him to essentially box out defenders to catch the football.

Red-Zone Threat: In the red zone, Young has the overall size and length to be targeted frequently to come down with the football.

Alignment Versatility: Young is an alignment-versatile prospect who can fill the role of playing the big slot or a flex TE position in certain schemes.

Concerns:

Top-End Speed: Young appears to lack top-end speed to separate from defenders vertically to create explosive downfield plays.

Ability to Separate: Young struggles in the short, intermediate, and deep portions of the field to separate from defenders, forcing him to rely on his ability to make contested catches. 

Colbie Young Summary/Projection:

Colbie Young transferred to Georgia from the University of Miami, where he served an important role in the Hurricanes' offense. Young, listed at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, became a mismatch problem for defenses, using his combination of size and athleticism to be a difficult player to cover. Due to Young's size, he can be utilized in various alignments and fill multiple roles within an offense. Young has surprising athleticism for his frame, which makes him a viable receiving option that should be featured.

Starting pre-snap, Young has been utilized in multiple alignments all over the field—from the true X position to the slot, and even aligned in the F position as a tight end—all of which he's capable of doing because of his overall size.

At the receiver position, Young appears to operate best against off coverage. He is a build-up-speed player who quickly eats up ground with his long strides. Against zone, Young can close space quickly, forcing defenders to flip their hips in anticipation of a vertical route, only for him to snap off the route underneath. He thrives on short-to-intermediate routes, showing the ability to win inside leverage and run effective in-breakers. At the catch point, and when defenders are in phase with him, Young can simply use his frame to shield defenders from making a play on the ball. At times, he overwhelms defenders with his size and has the upper hand in 50/50 contested situations.

Young's size also lends itself to the potential of transitioning into a tight end or flex tight end/power slot role for offenses. He has shown comfort operating in high-traffic areas and can win balls down the seam. Young has the potential to become a "security blanket" type of player over the middle of the field, where the quarterback doesn’t need to be perfectly accurate. As long as the ball is in the area, Young can come down with it.

Young's primary concern as a player is how he’ll separate against press-man coverage. Because he is a high-hipped strider, corners with quickness can get into his frame early and stay in phase with him throughout the route. This highlights his limited ability to separate using quickness and can disrupt the timing of more detailed routes.

Overall, Young’s size profile will help him carve out a role in the NFL, and he has the potential to become a productive possession receiver operating in the middle of the field.