'Power-First' Commanders DE Chase Young: Top 10 Pass Rusher?

How respected is Chase Young?

Jeremy Brener | Jul 18, 2022

Washington Commanders defensive end Chase Young is one of many who are looking forward to proving himself on Ron Rivera's roster.

Young responded to a Defensive Rookie of the Year campaign in 2020 with a step back in 2021 that ultimately ended in a torn ACL.

Despite last season's troubles, Young was named an honorable mention in a ranking of pass rushers based on a survey curated by ESPN, which polled 50 league executives, coaches, scouts and players.

"Young won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020 but struggled in Year 2 with 1.5 sacks in nine games," ESPN writes. "And now he is recovering from a torn ACL that could affect his early-season outlook for 2022. 'He'll be fine long-term,' an NFC front-office official said. 'He's best when he plays with power. He's a power-first guy.'"

The top-10 in the rankings were T.J. Watt (Pittsburgh Steelers), Myles Garrett (Cleveland Browns), Nick Bosa (San Francisco 49ers), Joey Bosa (Los Angeles Chargers), Maxx Crosby (Las Vegas Raiders), Von Miller (Buffalo Bills), Chandler Jones (Las Vegas Raiders), Brian Burns (Carolina Panthers), Khalil Mack (Los Angeles Chargers) and Cameron Jordan (New Orleans Saints).

Young could have been easily in the top-10 had he repeated what he did in his rookie season last year.

Before his injury, Young's play wasn't representative of what he displayed in his rookie season. He managed to record just 1.5 sacks and 21 tackles in nine games last season.

Young is entering a critical year as the Commanders will have a choice to make regarding his fifth-year option at season's end. If he underperforms for a second straight season, there will be serious consideration to decline the option.

He doesn't have to be the Defensive Player of the Year, but anything less than a career-high eight sacks and at least a couple of forced fumbles is going to leave a lot of questions hanging in the air for the Commanders and how to proceed with their former No. 2 overall pick.

Published Jul 18, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.