Chase Young talks about his fit in the New York Jets defense

The NFL Draft's top edge rusher, Chase Young, discusses his possible fit in the New York Jets defense

John Hardcastle (Maxwell Football Club)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- It would take the New York Jets gathering a lot of collateral to make it happen and move up in the NFL Draft, but the team’s meeting at the NFL Combine with Chase Young signals not just necessary due diligence. It also shows that upgrading the pass rush is on the mind of the Jets heading into free agency and the NFL Draft. 

Young is the top edge rusher and defensive player in April’s NFL Draft. The Ohio State defensive end had 16.5 sacks in 2019 as a junior and is likely the No. 2 pick in the draft. But should the Jets value Young, they would need to package together picks to move up from No. 11. 

On Friday, Young told SportsIllustrated.com that he met with the Jets at the NFL Combine two weeks ago in an informal interview. He also met with the New York Giants, he said, for a formal interview. 

The Giants hold the fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft and are a possible landing spot for Young. In that scenario, Washington would likely draft a quarterback at No. 2 and the Detroit Lions would select either Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons or Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah. But it isn’t likely that Washington takes a quarterback. 

Young was dominant last year on a fantastic Ohio State defense. With the Jets, he told SportsIllustrated.com that he is likely an outside linebacker in their 3-4 defense. 

He is willing, however, to line up anywhere along the defensive line or at linebacker:

Young had a fantastic NFL Combine as well, cementing his status as the presumptive second pick behind LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, expected to go No. 1 to the Cincinnati Bengals. 

Young spoke to SportsIllustrated.com on Friday after the press conference for the Maxwell Football Club’s annual awards gala. That evening, Young received the Chuck Bednarik Award from the organization in recognition of being college football’s top defensive player. 

The Ohio State standout accepted the award on-stage at the Maxwell Football Club’s event, held at the Tropicana Atlantic City. 

In addition to talking about the NFL Combine, Young said he will participate in positional drills at his upcoming Pro Day.