Published Apr 20, 2023
Can Bryce Young, Will Anderson go No. 1 and No. 2 in the NFL Draft
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James Benedetto  •  TideIllustrated
Staff Writer
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@james_benedetto

With the NFL Draft looming, questions of what player will go where continue to heighten as the football world turns its attention to Kansas City.

One question that continues to loom is whether Bryce Young and Will Anderson go No. 1 and 2 when the NFL Draft begins on April 27. It's been more than 20 years since the first two players selected came from the same school when in the 2000 NFL Draft when Penn State's Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington went back-to-back.

According to NFL Draft Analyst Daniel Jeremiah, there is a possibility Anderson and Young follow in those same footsteps.

"I think it's a legit possibility, more so this week than last week," Jeremiah said. "The thing with CJ Stroud and the Texans not taking him, I didn't buy it early on. I thought 'Bryce will go No. 1 and then Stroud will go No. 2, it just makes a lot of sense.' ... My buddy Lance Zurlein is there and he's plugged in and he was one of the first if not the first to say 'Hold up they might go defense here.'

"Those were kind of whispers and I think those whispers have kind of turned into a roar. ... I like Will Anderson over Tyree Wilson. I think both of them are good players, but if they want to go defense there, I think at the end of the day Will Anderson's body of work would be enough to get him over the hump."

Anderson became one of the most decorated pass rushers in Alabama history during his time in Tuscaloosa. He finished his three years at UA ranked second on Alabama's career sacks list with 34.5 (-201 yards), trailing only Derrick Thomas. He's also second in program history behind Thomas in tackles for loss with 62 (-272 yards).

With his dominance off the edge, he won the Nagurski Trophy twice, becoming the second player in the award's history to take the trophy home twice. He also joined Notre Dame's Manti Te'o as the only player to win the Nagurski, the Bednarik, the Rotary Lombardi and the Lott IMPACT Trophy during his collegiate career.

While Anderson is a bit unsure whether he will go second overall, Young is expected to go No. 1 overall but multiple outlets and Jeremiah echoed those statements. While he recognized that Young is a bit smaller than the signal-callers Carolina Panthers' quarterback coach Frank Reich has worked with in the past, Jeremiah praised Young's talent and believes that will propel him to the No. 1 pick.

"He's got the best tape of anyone in the class," Jeremiah said. "I thought it was clear cut, just with everything he does on schedule, off schedule, accuracy, poise, ball placement, playmaking ability, being great in those big clutch moments late in games, managing games, all that stuff is off the charts.

"If it was like a blind taste test and you just read the notes on Bryce Young and didn't look at how big he was, and you read your notes on Joe Burrow, they would read almost identical. I think he's that type of a player. I think he's that type of talent. You're going to take the risk with him, the body type is what it is."