GREEN BAY, Wis. – Happy birthday, Cameron Young.
Two days after his 25th birthday, the defensive tackle signed with the Green Bay Packers. A fourth-round draft pick by the Seattle Seahawks in 2023, he played in 16 games with one start as a rookie but only one game last season due to a knee injury. For his career, he has 18 tackles and one tackle for loss.
The Seahawks released him before this year’s draft.
“I like to describe myself as a dog,” Young said after being drafted. “A guy that’s very physical who loves to establish the line of scrimmage and stop the run. But I also got a little twist in there and can rush the passer.”
The Packers lost run-stopping defensive tackle T.J. Slaton in free agency. While Green Bay drafted Georgia’s Warren Brinson in the sixth round and signed Georgia teammate Nazir Stackhouse after the draft, Young will have a chance to fill that void.
“This is as stout a player as there is in college football this year,” then-Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said after the draft. "He’s physical and tough. He’s over 300 pounds and he plays like it, and he plays really tough football. So, we’ll get the same kind of play.”
Before the 2023 draft, Young measured 6-foot-3 3/8 and 304 pounds with 34 1/2-inch arms. With 5.10 speed in the 40, his Relative Athletic Score was 6.33.
Young suffered a torn ACL during his redshirt-freshman season of 2019.
“Physically, it wasn’t hard because that’s what I expected. That’s what everybody was telling me. I had already prepared myself for it,” he told The Daily Journal. “But it was a real challenge mentally trying to tell myself every day that really I’m still in progress and I’ve got to keep going.”
As a senior in 2022, he started all 13 games and had one sack and three tackles for losses among 37 total stops. For his career, he finished with two sacks, nine tackles for losses and five passes defensed.
“He’s a grown man,” Seahawks general manager John Schneider said after drafting Young. “This guy, his back’s almost as wide as [Seahawks defensive line coach Clint] Hurtt’s, and he’s super-strong at the point of attack. He just plays with just natural God-given strength, and he competes and was really excited we got him.”
During fall camp in 2022, he was selected for the Senior Bowl.
“He’s such a steady presence,” MSU defensive line coach Jeff Phelps said. “He’s kind of like the adhesive that keeps everything together. I joke around and say he’s the elder of the program. He comes to work every day. He’s tough as nails. He loves the game of football. He loves Mississippi State. He loves being around his teammates. Everything you want out of a young man, he’s got.”
Young grew up playing basketball and hoped to earn a scholarship in that sport. He was an excellent player who struggled with foul trouble. When the scholarship offers began to pour in in football, he put his focus on that sport.
At first, he played tight end. Later, he dominated with 21 sacks during his final two seasons.
“I don’t think anything’s more fun than playing on the D-line,” Young said. “Sacking the quarterback is just second to none.”
The Packers won’t ask Young to major in rushing the passer. Rather, they’ll hope his potential as a run defender can help him push toward a roster spot. Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden are back from last year. There’s no clear front-runner for that fifth spot.
“The measurable stuff is obviously impressive,” Hurtt said after one of Seattle’s offseason practices in 2023. “He’s a large man with long arms, big hands, is strong, and is physical at the point of contact, but he’s a guy that has good football awareness, ideas and feel of things going on.”