We all know that the Washington Redskins have a roster that is loaded with young talent with a hopefully bright future ahead of them, but sometimes it’s important to note just how special some of their young players are.
Coming off of a 2019 season where their rookie class performed better than any in the NFL, wide receiver Terry McLaurin stood as the poster-boy for the 2019 Redskins draft haul. With an explosion onto the scene in the first three weeks of the season, it became apparent early on that McLaurin was something special, and the rest of the league slowly started to take notice. Now, almost a year removed from his break-out party in Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles, McLaurin has made a semi-exclusive list, being named to Pro Football Focus’s Top 25 Players Under Age 25 list, where he comes in at No. 22.
McLaurin entered the NFL landscape last season as an older rookie — a third-round pick with limited expectations. He quickly crushed those expectations, turning into the bonified top option in the Redskins’ passing attack. When you look at the company McLaurin is keeping when it comes to receiving grade as a rookie, it’s hard not to get excited about his prospects in 2020. This is the list of rookies with receiving grades of 80.0 or higher on 250 or more routes over the past 10 years: Odell Beckham Jr., Keenan Allen, Michael Thomas, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Doug Baldwin and the two 2019 rookies A.J. Brown and McLaurin. Expect big things from McLaurin next year.
On top of the high expectations for McLaurin, the Redskins also have the only member of the 2020 rookie class who made the list — Chase Young.
Young’s mention here was earned here by just how dominant of a prospect he was — he’s the best edge defender prospect that PFF has scouted since 2014. He is coming off a 2019 season that earned a 96.0 overall grade, and he produced two consecutive seasons with an elite pass-rushing grade (90.0-plus) and over 50 quarterback pressures. PFF’s lead draft analyst Mike Renner said that Young was the second prospect he felt comfortable calling a future Hall of Famer coming out of college, joining only Quenton Nelson. Young could very well deserve a spot on this list without even playing a down in the NFL.
Of course, we’re yet to know exactly what type of impact that Young will have at the next level, but we can feel confident saying that it will be significant. If the Redskins can continue to build on these young success stories, the future will be very bright.
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