Washington Redskins 2020 NFL Draft grade: Chase Young changes game
After making the obvious selection in round one, the Washington Redskins added some unpredictability to their offense in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The Washington Redskins made the selection everybody expected with the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Yet, while Chase Young’s arrival in Washington was predictable, the Redskins’ selections at the offensive skill positions ensured opposing defenses will be second-guessing them a lot in 2020.
The third day was headlined by the trade of Trent Williams to the San Francisco 49ers for a fifth-round pick this year and a third-rounder in 2021.
Washington moved quickly to draft his potential replacement as Ron Rivera sets out to turn around the fortunes of this historic franchise. Here we grade their picks.
The no-brainer pick, Young will slot seamlessly into the Redskins defense and give them an imposing tandem of edge rushers.
Washington last year used a first-round pick on Montez Sweat, who will hope to build on an encouraging seven-sack season.
It is Young, however, who offensive coordinators will focus on trying to neutralize.
They will be fortunate to succeed in doing so, though, as Young proved unstoppable at the collegiate level. He followed up a 10.5-sack season in 2018 by racking up 16.5 sacks and 21 tackles for loss in 2019.
The scary thing for opposing offensive lines is that Young has not even scratched the surface of what he can achieve. He’s long, athletic and explosive but is still developing his repertoire of pass rush moves.
When he adds to his arsenal, Young should blossom into one of the most fearsome edge defenders in the NFL.
There was talk during the pre-draft season about the Redskins possibly eschewing Young to select Tua Tagovailoa. It remains to be seen whether the faith they displayed in Dwayne Haskins by not doing that was justified but, for a defense that was 27th in the league last year, this is the right decision.