2. Chase Young, EDGE, Ohio State
Height: 6’5″ Weight: 264
40-Yard Dash: N/A
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: N/A
Broad Jump: N/A
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
60-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Bio: Young started high school as an undersized quarterback, switching to defensive end and tight end once he saw a growth spurt. By his senior season, he’d earned Washington Post Defensive Player of the Year honors with 118 tackles, 37 tackles for loss, 19 sacks and five forced fumbles. Offers came from just about every major program in the country, but after a flirtation with Maryland, he chose Ohio State, following in the footsteps of Joey and Nick Bosa as top-shelf Buckeye edge-rushers. He put up 98 tackles, 40.5 tackles for loss, and 30.5 sacks in three seasons at Ohio State, though there were some concerns about the three-game sackless streak at the end of his collegiate career against Michigan, Wisconsin, and Clemson, Young had a ready answer for that at the scouting combine.
“I had a lot of quarterback hits, a lot of pressures. If you understand football, you would see that. You’ll see how they changed their whole offensive game plan for one guy. A lot of people might not know how to really study a tape or may not know how to watch football, but if you know football, I made an impact in those games.
“Being the best defensive end isn’t about sacks, it’s about being the most disruptive player on the field. You can do that without having a sack.”
Chase Young this week on the three-sack drought: "Being the best defensive end isn't about sacks, it's about being the most disruptive player on the field. You can do that without having a sack… I had a lot of quarterback hits, a lot of pressures."
Yup. pic.twitter.com/aeDTsoTcgE
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) February 29, 2020
I mean, here's Young absolutely stopping a Trevor Lawrence passing attempt were it not for the entire right side of the defense getting lost in the weeds. So, let's please stop focusing on sack numbers as the be-all, end-all. pic.twitter.com/bJH4g8LkWs
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) February 29, 2020
As I wrote during the combine, Young was absolutely correct about this. He was a top disruptor throughout the entire season, and he projects to be the same type of weapon at the NFL level very quickly.
Stat to Know: Young recorded a preposterous 75 total pressures in 2018, and while his opportunities were relatively limited in 2019, he still had 56 pressures in just 320 pass-rushing snaps (as opposed to 470 the year before).
Strengths: True field-flipping defender who forces opposing offenses to design their game plans around avoiding him. Has ideal first-step quickness to set tackles on edge and prime wins through the arc to the pocket. Turns the corner to the pocket with excellent bend and power. Strong enough to disable blockers when he gets his hands into their chests. Maintains his speed through the pocket to work mobile quarterbacks. Has a nice array of moves from bull-rush to swim and club/rip that can be developed more specifically at the NFL level. Sorts and sifts through multiple blockers to get where he wants to go. Spies the quarterback through the snap and has an innate sense of how to create pressure from broken plays. Adept enough with his feet to do a decent job in short coverage. Works gaps more than he uses a true inside counter, but has the tools to make it work.
Weaknesses: Young needs a more complete plan when he heads wide and gets beaten. Inside counter isn’t developed as it needs to be. Needs better awareness for run plays, zone reads, and misdirection when he’s pinning his ears back. Redirection reaction can be a problem at times, though the recovery speed is obviously there. Wins more on pure athleticism and power than advanced traits, though he’s well on his way.
Conclusion: The question of whether Yonng is the best and/or most valuable defensive player in this draft class is a fascinating one, and probably highly reliant on whether you think pressure or coverage is more important at the NFL level. There are those who might prefer cornerback Jeff Okudah, Young’s Ohio State teammate, because Okudah brings a lockdown man-coverage mentality that’s as worthy of franchise consideration as any non-quarterback skill set. But if you’re looking for an edge defender with an obvious and easily transferable ability to terrorize quarterbacks at the NFL level, look no further. Young is a different player than either of the Bosa brothers, but he certainly looks to have the same type of potential.
NFL Comparison: Aldon Smith. Smith was an absolute force as a pass-rusher before off-field issues unfortunately wrecked his athletic potential. But when Smith was on his game, he had the same combination of size, explosive speed, and unusual power that allowed him to total 33.5 sacks in 2011 and 2012 — the most for any NFL player in his first two seasons since the sack became an official statistic in 1982. Young absolutely has the ability to make the same kind of impact, and has All-Pro potential especially if he cleans up a few non-pass rush issues that will make him a more complete player.