Zion Young, DE
School: Missouri | Conference: SEC
College Experience: Senior | Age: 21
Height / Weight: 6’5” / 262 lbs
Projected Draft Status:
Player Comparison: Preston Smith
College Statistics
| Tackles | Def Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Solo | Ast | Comb | TFL | Sk | Int | Yds | IntTD | PD | FR | Yds | FRTD | FF | Awards |
| 2022 | Michigan State | Big Ten | FR | DE | 8 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023 | Michigan State | Big Ten | SO | DE | 12 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2024* | Missouri | SEC | JR | DE | 13 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 5.5 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2025* | Missouri | SEC | SR | DE | 13 | 20 | 22 | 42 | 16.5 | 6.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Career | 46 | 50 | 81 | 131 | 28.5 | 11.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Michigan State (2 Yrs) | 20 | 16 | 31 | 47 | 6.5 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Missouri (2 Yrs) | 26 | 34 | 50 | 84 | 22.0 | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 3 | |||||
Player Overview
Football has been a huge part of Zion Young’s life for a long time. His dad was his coach for a large part of his youth. He started on the varsity team at Westlake High School in Atlanta as a freshman and remained a standout player during his time there. It led to him being a three-star recruit with offers from Florida,
West Virginia, Missouri, and Michigan State. Young decided to become a Spartan to start his collegiate career.
Young saw the field early in Lansing. As a freshman, he played in eight games, starting two at defensive end. With more playing time as a sophomore, Young improved on his number of tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks. Young decided to enter the draft portal after the Spartans hired a new coach, ultimately landing with Missouri, a school that missed out on Young as a high school recruit.
With the Tigers, Young immediately became a full-time starter. He rewarded the team by doubling his tackling production from his sophomore year and being third on the team in sacks and tackles for loss. Named a captain for his senior season because of his leadership qualities, Young had a team-high 16.5 tackles for loss and was second on the team in sacks. He earned All-SEC First Team honors for 2025.
Strengths
- Excellent size for an NFL defensive end, especially his length
- Explodes into blockers with serious knock-back power
- Good hand usage with powerful, accurate strikes
- Hard to move in the run game and plays the run with discipline
- Successfully converts speed to power on bull rushes and long arm rushes
- Good motor; keeps working to get to the ball
Weaknesses
- Occasionally a beat slow out of his stance
- Lacks the flexibility and agility to bend around blockers
- Difficulty changing directions leads to pressures instead of sacks
- Still developing non-power rushes, but there are flashes
- DWI charge in 2025
Let’s See His Work
How He Fits on the Commanders
The defensive end position for the Commanders was ravaged by injuries this season. Dorance Armstrong and Javontae Jean-Baptiste were lost to injuries. While Von Miller led the team in sacks, he is not the future at the position. The only bright spot was the play of Jacob Martin, but he’s 30 and a free agent. The team should consider both free agency and the draft to improve the position.
Zion Young looks like a starting defensive end in the NFL. He has the size and his play against the run will see him play on early downs. His power is useful as a pass rusher because it can help collapse the pocket and gives opposing quarterbacks few options for escaping the pocket. Young will have to continue developing his pass rush moves because NFL players will find ways to neutralize his reliance on power rushes. There are moments of this on his tape, but it needs to become a bigger part of his game. This is what will take him from being a starter to a impact player. Young’s draft stock appears to be on the rise after being named Defensive MVP at the Senior Bowl and, without a pick in Round 2, the Commanders would have to hope that he’s available at their third-round pick or make a trade to acquire a second-round pick. Drafting Young would allow the Commanders to leave the draft with a starting-caliber defensive end.
