Big shoes to fill: Replacing 2019 NFL Draft first round picks

Chase Young – Ohio State

Replacing: Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers

While on the field for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Nick Bosa did everything to prove that he was worth being taken with the second overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. As a sophomore for the Buckeyes, the now-49er appeared in 14 games and notched 34 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. He was on pace to surpass those numbers in 2018 as well, notching four sacks, six tackles for loss and 14 total tackles through three games.

However, the interesting wrinkle as it pertains to Bosa is that he suffered an injury to a core muscle in that third game of the year against TCU. That kept him sidelined for a bit and, as a result, Bosa elected to not return to the field and instead began training for the draft. That worked out for him, obviously, but it also worked out for Ohio State as they found their ready-made replacement.

In Bosa’s absence, Chase Young emerged as the next potential defensive superstar for the Buckeyes. In 13 games last season, the 6-foot-5, 265-pounder registered 9.5 sacks, 14.5 tackles for loss and 33 total tackles on the year. He proved to be just as impactful as a player as Bosa was, which is saying a lot.

With that experience under his belt, Young could now make a case himself to be a top-five pick in the 2020 draft. He has already shown the tools and production to do that and, now that he fully claims the spotlight with Bosa gone, he’ll only become more of a household name.