Packers quietly send Seahawks draft bust packing ahead of training camp

A fourth-round NFL draft pick needs to be counted on as being a solid backup, if not a surprise starter. Maybe when the Seattle Seahawks choose a player in the first round, such as 2025 selection Grey Zabel, that player is expected to start immediately. But fourth-round gems can work out quickly, too, such as 2024 pick Tyrice Knight.

2023 fourth-rounder Cameron Young never turned out to be what the Seahawks hoped. He was taken to be a defensive tackle, but the team wanted to transition him to nose guard. He had the decent size to play the spot at 305 pounds, but not the strength or quickness.

Young was supposed to back up Jarran Reed, who made the move to nose guard the same year Young was chosen, and Reed was very good. He was forced to play more reps than Seattle originally wanted, however, because of Young's ineffectiveness.

Seattle Seahawks draft bust Cameron Young fails with the Green Bay Packers, too

The Green Bay Packers have learned just how ineffective Young can be. The Seahawks released the defensive lineman in April, and the Packers scooped him up. He clearly did not impress during OTAs or minicamp, though, as Young was released by Green Bay just a day before the team started training camp.

Besides adapting poorly as a rookie, Young hurt his knee in 2024 and missed nearly the entire season. He was cleared to play, though, and could have been a contributor in 2025. Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald obviously didn't see Young as a good fit on his defensive line.

The question for Young now is whether he can find another team to play for. At 6'3" and over 300 pounds, he has NFL size, but he hasn't proven during games that he can be good. He received 201 snaps in 2023, split evenly between pass-rushing downs and run defense, and he had 18 tackles and a quarterback hit. He also whiffed on 20.8 percent of his tackle attempts.

The last number is awful for an interior defensive lineman, and the run defense suffered on the downs Young played. Even had he not been hurt last season, Macdonald would likely not have trusted Young as much as former head coach Pete Carroll did in the defensive lineman's rookie season.

It is also telling that the Packers didn't think Young was good enough to even reach training camp. Perhaps his knee is still an issue, or maybe he lacks the physical skill to help an NFL team. Cameron Young is out of a job now, and it might stay that way.