Landon

Young

Young’s exit is notable as the backup tackle was already in for the injured starter Ryan Ramczyk. Cam Erving is in for the Saints now as Derek Carr works with a banged up right side of the offensive line.

The Colts moved down 12 spots and got a seventh-rounder for the pick. Young (6'6/310) could have been a three and a half year starter at Kentucky if not for a season-ending knee injury early in the 2018 season. Young had earned a handful of starts in the previous season, then took over the starting job entirely by 2019, eventually earning second-team All-SEC honors in his final season. On the field, Young excelled as a power blocker for the Wildcats. He has the frame and raw strength to be a force on gap schemes where he gets to just wash someone down the line of scrimmage. That kind of power and explosion shows up just the same in Young’s testing, seeing as he hit the 78th percentile in both the vertical and broad jumps. On the other hand, Young is not a smooth or quick mover, both in pass pro and in space in the run game. Young could be a nice fit for gap-heavy teams, but will still need to develop some better flexibility and smoother movement skills.

Young (6'7/321) is a former five-star recruit who ranked as the 15th overall prospect in the nation coming out of high school. a consistent presence on the Wildcats’ offensive line for the last four years, Young logged 2,529 snaps while earning PFF offensive grades of 78.3 in 2019 and 77.3 in 2020. Zierlein thinks his pass protection abilities are sound but he will likely need help against more athletic pass rushers. He grades Young as a 5.91 level prospect who will be a developmental project at the NFL level.

Young (6'7/324) missed all of the 2018 season with a right knee injury. Thankfully, he was able to redshirt that year and return in 2019 with two years of eligibility left. After starting 13 games for the Wildcats in 2019 and being central to their offense’s success, Young has decided to give Kentucky one final season. Young mentioned how much the love and support he received during his 2018 injury recovered meant to him and how it made him feel like Kentucky is a home, not just a school.

Care or otherwise, Young received five stars from Rivals, with the recruiting outlet tabbing him as their No. 29 overall player in the 2016 recruiting cycle. HC Mark Stoops ladled out some impressive praise for his new lineman, calling the 6-foot-7, 296-pounder “definitely one of the more talented true freshmen I’ve been around in any school” and noting that he could have a chance to play as a freshman.

Young (6'7/296) was expected to start at left tackle this season, making this a cruel late blow for the Wildcats. The former five-star recruit is not replaceable outright along the line, but the team may actually be set up well to maneuver around his absence. Offensive line is one of the Wildcats’ deepest positions. Two possible options to help fill in -- E.J. Price and Naasir Watkins. Kentucky may have bodies to throw around, here, but they’ll have to figure out their marching orders in rapid fashion, what with their opener against Central Michigan now just a week away.