{"id":561246,"date":"2026-03-24T14:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T14:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/561246\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T14:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T14:08:10","slug":"where-bryce-young-ranks-among-recent-top-qbs-ft-fernando-mendoza-drake-maye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/561246\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Bryce Young Ranks Among Recent Top QBs ft. Fernando Mendoza, Drake Maye"},"content":{"rendered":"

When bringing up QB prospects in the last few years, Bryce Young<\/a> will always be mentioned as he\u2019s one of the best prospects of this decade so far. Young, of course, won the Heisman award during his tenure with the Crimson Tide. Young\u2019s career at Alabama made him the clear pick for the Carolina Panthers.<\/a><\/p>\n

The question can be asked, though, where does Bryce Young rank amongst all the QB prospects this decade? One NFL draft analyst decided to do a deep dive into how QB prospects since 2021 rank, not only as prospects but also where they are projected to rank in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bryce Young 448 YDS, 3 TD, 0 INT vs ATL Today.<\/p>\n

Great bounce back OT Win from the young QB.pic.twitter.com\/6TM42lYgcc<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/JFvOIMuSbz<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) November 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Fox Sports\u2019 Rob Rang released his ranking of the best QB prospects since 2021<\/a>, and to no surprise at all, Bryce Young as a prospect was near the top of the list. Young ranks third on the list of prospects, only slotted behind two other No. 1 picks, with one of them also winning a Heisman trophy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2 QBs Rank Ahead of Bryce Young As Prospects\"Trevor<\/p>\n

Sep 7, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) carries the ball as Carolina Panthers linebacker Trevin Wallace (32) defends during the second half at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The only two prospects ranked ahead of Young are Trevor Lawrence and Caleb Williams. Lawrence won a national championship and went undefeated as a true freshman. He also lost only two games in his entire tenure at Clemson, and one of them was during another national championship appearance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Caleb Williams didn\u2019t see the success that Lawrence and even Bryce Young did, but he put up ridiculous numbers and was a highlight reel machine, drawing comparisons to Patrick Mahomes. Williams won the Heisman trophy the year after Bryce Young did, in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bryce Young is Ranked Correctly\"Bryce<\/p>\n

Sep 28, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) puts on his helmet during warmups before a game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

As tempting as it is to make a case for Bryce Young to be ranked No. 1, it\u2019s ultimately not an insult to be ranked third among all QB prospects in the last five years.<\/p>\n

Bryce Young still got so much untapped potential. pic.twitter.com\/SwzueAoDhl<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Football\u2019s Greatest Moments (@FBGreatMoments) March 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Caleb Williams did get sacked more than Young, but in college, Williams threw for more yards, had a higher completion percentage, and threw 13 more touchdown passes than Young did. If there\u2019s one argument for Young, it\u2019d be that he won more at Alabama than Williams did with Oklahoma and USC, but even so, it\u2019s still a coin flip of a choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lawrence has an even better argument, leading Young in touchdown passes, passing yards, and completion percentage. The most significant part of Lawrence\u2019s argument is the national championship he won, which Bryce Young never won as a starter.<\/p>\n

Where Bryce Ranks for 2026\"Bryce<\/p>\n

Feb 26, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; (From left to right) Los Angeles Clippers guard Darius Garland and CJ Stroud and Bryce Young and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards pose for a photo following a basketball game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

As a prospect, there aren\u2019t many better than Bryce Young, but with the ups and downs<\/a> of his tenure with Carolina, he\u2019s dropped a little from where he ranks as a prospect.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bryce Young ranks 7th\u00a0in Rang\u2019s current rankings. What’s most interesting is that future No.1 NFL Draft<\/a> pick QB, Fernando Mendoza, is ranked just one spot behind Young, despite not starting a single game in the NFL yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman moment.pic.twitter.com\/wk6rvEFNIK<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Football\u2019s Greatest Moments (@FBGreatMoments) March 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Then there are other QBs who have made huge jumps, proving to be better than current NFL QBs than college prospects. Patriots QB Drake Maye is the perfect example of this, ranked behind Bryce Young, as the 5th-best prospect since 2021, but the No. 1-ranked QB going into 2026<\/p>\n

Bryce Young ranked at 7 isn\u2019t egregious; there\u2019s one QB that maybe should go behind Young, which is CJ Stroud, who just had one of the worst two-game stretches in NFL Playoff history<\/a>.\u00a0Stroud obviously has more playoff wins than Bryce Young, but if it’s about the current state of their careers, Bryce Young could easily be argued over CJ Stroud.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/p>\n

Bryce Young is no doubt one of the best modern QB prospects the NFL has seen; his career at Alabama was nothing short of legendary. As far as 2026 goes, there may not be another QB who has more pressure on them to perform and to do so consistently. If Bryce Young does just that, he\u2019ll climb the ranks among QB\u2019s in the NFL<\/a>, and the Panthers will be a huge threat<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n