Redskins draft defensive end Chase Young in round 1
April 23, 2020
by Steve Thomas
The Washington Redskins drafted former Ohio St. defensive end Chase Young with pick two of round one of the 2020 NFL draft. There had been discussions and rumors for months regarding the Redskins’ use of the #2 overall pick, including the possibility of a trade down with a quarterback-hungry team or the selection of another player, but in the end, the team went with the safe pick and brought the top-ranked player in the draft to DC.
Young, a native of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was measured at 6’5” and 264 pounds at the NFL Combine. He is a graduate of infamous local athletic powerhouse DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Maryland. Young entered Ohio St. in 2016 as a 5 star recruit, consensus top 10 high school player in the country, and a USA Today High School All-American. In his collegiate career, he played 34 games over 3 seasons, making a total of 98 tackles, including 68 solo tackles and 40.5 tackles for loss, and 30.5 sacks. His sack totals increased every season, with 3.5 in 2017, 10.5 in 2018, and 16.5 in 2019. Last season, in addition to the sacks, he was credited with 46 tackles, including 32 solo and 21 for loss. His career 30.5 sacks is the second-most in Ohio St. history, behind only future NFL great Mike Vrabel, who had 36. Young was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection in 2018 and a Unanimous All-American in 2019. He also won the Bronko Nagurski Award and the Chuck Bednarik Award, both awarded to the best defensive player in the country, as well as the Ted Hendricks Award given to the top defensive end in the country.
Young attended the NFL Combine but did not participate in any drills, with the intent of doing drills but not the athletic measurement tests at the Ohio St. pro day. That event did not happen due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, so Young was never worked out for NFL scouts during the pre-draft process. However, ESPN listed his 40 yard dash time as 4.94 seconds coming out of high school[1], which isn’t a good time; however, it’s very likely that he improved on that time somewhat in the intervening years. Also, for comparison’s sake, Young’s best NFL comparison, Julius Peppers, was timed at 4.74 seconds at the 2002 NFL Combine, so his current time is likely within the
Young was the near-unanimous top-rated player at the draft and was only available to the Redskins at #2 because the Cincinnati Bengals were in desperate need of quarterback Joe Burrow. With Young on board, the Redskins have the good problem of deciding whether long time stalwart Ryan Kerrigan or Young will get to start the beginning of the season opposite 2019 first round pick Montez Sweat. Certainly, regardless of what happens in the short term, the defensive future is here in the Young – Sweat pairing, and the defensive line group in general looks set for years to come.
Welcome home, Chase.
[1] http://www.espn.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/combine/_/id/212159/chase-young