2023 NFL Draft Player Profiles: Mississippi State DL Cameron Young

From now until the 2023 NFL Draft takes place, we hope to scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top 10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections and priority undrafted free agents. Today, I will be profiling Mississippi State defensive lineman, Cameron Young.

#93 Cameron Young, DL, Mississippi State (rSR) — 6033, 304 lbs.

Senior Bowl/Combine/Pro Day

Measurements

The Good

— Good size and very good length
— Experience playing 0-3 tech; potential to play the 5 tech
— Can stand up OL with his strength
— Good stack and shed
— Potential as a power rusher
— Solid mental processing of blocking schemes
— High motor and plays with his eyes up
— Good tackler; stops runner at the point of contact

The Bad

— Pops up rather than out at the snap
— Hand counters are inconsistent
— Punch timing is adequate
— Very low pass rush production
— Marginal lateral agility and change of direction
— Give up ground versus double team blocks
— Struggles to get over Reach blocks

Bio

— 2022 – 37 tackles, 10 solo, 3 TFL, 1 sack, 1 PBU
— Career – 110 tackles, 36 solo, 9 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 4 PBU
— 38 games, 13 starts
— 3-start recruit out of high school
— Senior Bowl Invitee
— Majored in Industrial Technology
— Birthday June 8, 2000 (age 22)

Tape Breakdown

The Steelers are going to be in the market to add players to the defensive line. Cameron Young has good size and very good length and has experience playing from the 0 tech (nose tackle) out to the 3 tech (shaded outside the guard).

Against the pass, he has not been successful statistically with just two sacks in his career. There are some positives from which to build. He has good play strength and solid hand placement. Once engaged, he has the strength to yanks blockers out of his way or bull the blocker into the pocket when he fires out with good pad level. He displays a good motor and will chase to the whistle. Along with the bull, he uses a long arm, push/pull and club/swim. He has potential as a penetrator on stunts and gets his hands up in passing lanes.

Vs Arkansas, Young (93) will first use a push/pull to yank he center out of his way and then he’ll use the bull rush to push the right guard into the pocket.

At Alabama, he uses a long arm to drive back the center on the first play. On the second play, he uses two inside swims to get into the backfield.

Vs Illinois, here is his lone sack on the season. From over center, he will loop left and wrap up the quarterback.

Against the run, he is tough to handle one on one and always has his eyes up. With his hand strength, length and power he can stack and shed to make plays in his gaps. When he times his hands correctly, they are heavy and can stun the blocker. He is better in a two gap scheme rather than a one gap. Against outside runs, he recognizes the blocking scheme, and he works hard to beat Reach blocks to string the play to the sideline. Runners are stopped in their tracks when he gets his hands on them.

Vs Arkansas, he is lined up over the left guard. At the snap, he moves to his right, engages the right guard and sheds him for the tackle. On play two, he uses strength and hand placement to stand up the center and shed him for the tackle.

Vs Georgia, he’s lined up as the 1 tech and will stand up Georgia left tackle Broderick Jones with his right hand while grabbing the running back with his left arm. On play two, he shoots through the A gap and disrupts the running back’s plan.

Young pops up in his stance rather than forward. This takes away from his power and limits his punch strength. His stance is very narrow, and he doesn’t use the power in his legs consistently. The team looped him to the outside a lot, regardless of down and distance, often taking him away from the play. His hand counters are adequate and need to improve going forward. His lateral agility is marginal, and he lacks the quick twitchiness you like to see as a pass rusher. It doesn’t help in the run game either limiting his range. Against, double teams he plays too high and gets driven out of his area. His stamina versus up tempo offenses seemed to drain quickly.

At Alabama, he is lined up over the left guard and reads the play well but isn’t quick enough to get over the block.

Vs Georgia, he is going to get doubled by the center and guard and be driven well off the ball.

Conclusion

Overall, Young has good size and length and the play strength to shed blockers. He has a good motor and is always giving effort. Against the pass, he has the potential to use power rushes to collapse the pocket and be a penetrator on stunts. He reads blocks well and works hard to win each rep. His play strength is evident against run when taking on blocks or corralling runners and can be a handful in one-on-one reps.

Areas to improve include, his pad level and burst moving toward the blocker rather than up. Working on more consistent hand placement and timing verses run blocker and countering in passing situations. The handling of double team blocks will be a necessity at the next level.

Young fits best in a two gap system in an odd or even front as the 0/1 tech. He’s best using his strength to control and shed blockers to make plays within his gap. With his length, he could be a valuable backup to play out to the 5 tech position shaded outside the tackle. There is potential to his game and the right coaching may be able to coax it out of him. He can be a rotational 2 down defender until he shows more in the passing game.

As a comp, I’ll go with Byron Cowart who had similar size and length, the ability to stack and shed with bull rush potential. Both play with inconsistent pad level, didn’t change direction very well and needed more pop when engaging blockers.

Projection: Late Day Three

Depot Draft Grade:  6.4 End of Roster/ Practice Squad (6th Round)

Games Watched: 2022 – Vs Arkansas, At Alabama, Vs Georgia, At Mississippi, Vs Illinois