Call me weird as an NFL Draft analyst — I love pro comparisons. Adore them. Spend way too much time formulating them for prospects every draft season.
Of course, comparisons are always “stylistic” and not solely based on things like height, weight or college program. And because I take them seriously and do so many, many comparisons for prospects aren’t exactly superstars at the NFL level.
I will say, in most cases, the top prospects in every class are universally compared to established stars. But even if you follow the draft on a casual level you know — many first-round picks never reach star superstar status, and in fact, “bust.”
With that thought in mind, let’s compare the consensus top prospects in the 2023 class to former infamous draft busts. Hat tip to Purple Insider’s Matthew Coller for this idea.
(VITAL DISCLAIMER: These are not my legitimate comparisons for these prospects. It’s just for fun.)
QB Bryce Young (Alabama)
Bust comparison: Zach Wilson
- Pick and year: No. 2 overall, 2021 draft (Jets)
- College: BYU
Too soon? Yeah, maybe. But it’s apt so I’m running with it. Let me explain.
Wilson was a little bigger than Young at 6-foot-2 and 214 pounds but, like Young, he had a narrow-shouldered frame. The two quarterbacks finished their collegiate careers with a similar amount of experience and each had a flair for creative ad-libbing and were deceptively smooth athletes running with the football. Especially in Wilson’s final, truly breakout campaign at BYU, when he completed more than 73.5% of his passes with 33 touchdowns to just three interceptions, the young passer threw with pinpoint accuracy and anticipation to all levels of the field.
Wilson wasn’t pressured as frequently as Young was in college, yet the poise avoiding pressure and calmness amid the chaos for both quarterbacks made them premier prospects in their respective classes.
DT Jalen Carter (Georgia)
Bust comparison: Marcell Dareus
- Pick and year: No. 3 overall, 2011 draft (Bills)
- College: Alabama
Carter and Dareus are close stylistic specimens, three-down thumpers equally as disruptive as run defenders as they were pass rushers in college. They checked all the boxes teams want out of a marquee defensive tackle prospect.
The off-field concerns run parallel, too. Dareus unfortunately lost many people close to him during his early years and through…
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