Zion Young
EDGE
Senior
Ht: 6-5| Wt: 262
Rank: 44
YEAR
TCK
TFL
SACK
INT
2025
21
7
8
0
2024
15
3
3
0
Zion Young Scouting Report
Zion Young is a good example of a player building year to year, and finishing his career strong. After two years of laboring at Michigan State he transferred to the SEC at Mizzou. He had never topped 3 sacks through his junior year, but exploded as a Senior with 6.5.
Tape Scouting Report
He’s not quite a technician yet, but owns a stable of power intro moves as a pass rusher. He can effectively parley his length well with timely strikes, and has shown that his swim tech can be a considerable means of disarming OL. Young is a very direct pass rusher, leaning into his bull rush first. What Young does lack is a solid plan/counter method on tape. As when he fails to win on his first move, he often times sets himself to a default push mode. He rarely takes oblique angles and is very seldomly seen tacking around the blocker. As a run defender he plays with good leverage if he is set properly but is sometimes out sync or up field. But when he is set, he has a pillar of a frame and can hold his ground well. He sees the backfield like a veteran SEC edge, and even if he can be slightly aggressive up front, he’s capable of sorting out the mix of players to ID developing action like screens, counters and QB movement.
Athletic Scouting Report
Some consider him a player who can be “off the ball” but his frame is borderline for the task, and on tape he doesn’t show evidence of being coverage aware at a high enough level to merit that use. The Mizzou Edge defender has a very good athletic profile. No one will confuse him with a speed rusher, but it’s not an issue because he has archetype level length at 6-5. Zion Young also has long arms, and the kind of core strength that rarely leaves him at the short end of leverage. While his first step is not blistering he is a fine pursuit athlete with very good linear speed. He also has decent bend in his midsection and show himself capable of wrapping around the pocket swiftly. His prospective negatives are clear though.
Draft Stock Report
As a true senior, one has to wonder if what we see is Young at his peak. This is a scouting question made extra poignant by his pure, late breakout in his final season. And while he has some obvious limitations that suggest he’s more a plus starter than a true star, those age and experience issues are really the only big thorns for a player who does appear to have legitimate pass rush upside. When we add his SEC production and his frame with steady development we get a Red Chip prospect, and it’s hard to see how Young drops from the top 45, even if he’s not likely to break the top 32.
Jurisdictional priors for DWI and Aggravated Assault on scouting records.
Athletics
Play Diagnosis
Rush Technique
Run Fit Technique