This stat hints Chase Young can be Lawrence Taylor for Ron Rivera in Washington

Washington drafted Chase Young to be its version of Lawrence Taylor.

Washington has huge plans for Chase Young as the franchise’s defensive cornerstone.

The NFL franchise took the standout pass rusher from the Ohio State Buckeyes with the No. 2 overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft. In three years with Ohio State, Young emerged as one of the preeminent players in the country. He took home every major defensive award he was up for. The unanimous All-American defensive end was even a finalist for the 2019 Heisman Trophy.

While Washington expects Young to be a perennial Pro Bowler and 10-sack per year type of guy, this one stat from PFF may indicate the Washington professional team may have stumbled into the best pass-rushing talent of his generation. What are the chances new head coach Ron Rivera gets to start his second stint as an NFL head coach with his own version of Lawrence Taylor?

Nobody brings the pressure like Chase Young did in college for Ohio State.

Admittedly, Washington has done more things wrong than right as a franchise in the last two decades. Occasionally, the team will have a good year. However, if the team has done anything very well of late, it has been drafting and developing talent along its defensive line and pass-rush. Amidst all their other struggles, getting after the quarterback hasn’t been an issue for them.

Being compared to the greatest player in the history of a storied division rival like the New York Giants is lofty, but that’s the type of talent Young is for the Washington professional team. It’s his combination of speed, vision, awareness and execution that made him perhaps a more preeminent pro prospect than either of the Bosa Bothers, and Joey and Nick are fantastic players!

While he did give slow-footed Big Ten offensive linemen nightmares, Young’s skill set would have translated with the ACC power Clemson Tigers or any SEC blue-blood program that comes to mind. The best thing he’s got going for him is he has the ideal head coach who will bring the absolute best out of him. He may be better than All-Pro linebacker Luke Kuechly was for Rivera.

Keep in mind that Rivera had been with the Carolina Panthers for nearly a decade. He’s coached some of the most preeminent talents the game has seen in the last decade. From Kuechly to Cam Newton to Christian McCaffrey, most NFL franchises would be lucky to have had one player like that on their team, and Rivera got to coach all three of them. Now, he gets to coach Young.

Washington may have drafted its best defensive player since the late Sean Taylor in Young.