The 49ers’ blockbuster trade for Chase Young is one of those moves that’s impossible to criticize in the short term.
The Washington Commanders traded away their two foundational edge-rushers on Tuesday, Montez Sweat was traded to the Chicago Bears in a move that had a lot of people shaking their heads, and then, the San Francisco 49ers swept in and got Chase Young for a 2024 third-round pick, which has Steve Wilks’ defensive line looking like THIS:
Holy cats. How did this happen? The Commanders are clearly building (re: tanking) for the future, and the 49ers, who allowed 13.6 points per game in their 5-0 opening win streak, and 24.0 points per game in their recent 0-3 slide, have another impact guy on a defense that has underperformed of late.
The 49ers also now have the second-overall pick in the 2019 draft (Bosa) and the second-overall pick in the 2020 draft (Young) — both from Ohio State. This season, Bosa has 44 total pressures, ranking third in the NFL behind Maxx Crosby and Aidan Hutchinson, and Young has 29 pressures, tied for eighth in the league.
That should mean very, very bad news for opposing offensive tackles.
Young’s speed to the pocket is his calling card, as he showed on this sack of Tyrod Taylor of the Giants in Week 7. Left tackle Justin Pugh didn’t have much of a response as a career offensive guard.
And on this sack of Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4, Young gave left tackle Jordan Mailata a nasty double move on his way to the quarterback.
Like Sweat, Young is in the last year of his current contract. But unlike Sweat, Young goes to an absolute contender, and a re-signing might be far more in the Cards. Given the relative lack of draft capital given, and what Young should do for San Francisco’s edges, it’s hard not to see this as a pure steal.
