Chase Young

Young is coming off an awkward 2023 campaign that saw him dealt from the Commanders to the 49ers at the trade deadline. He then logged just 2.5 sacks and 10 tackles across nine regular-season games with San Francisco, and he underwent offseason surgery to address a lingering neck issue. As the No.2 overall pick from the 2020 Draft, Young will look to cash in on a one-year prove-it deal with New Orleans where he's slated to serve as the third defensive end behind returning starters Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson.

Not much has gone right for Young since 2020, when he was the second overall pick and Defensive Rookie of the Year. He had only 1.5 sacks in nine games the following year before suffering an ACL tear, and he then struggled to return from the injury and made only three appearances last season. The Commanders declined the fifth-year option on Young's rookie contract, so a breakthrough in 2023 would make him an awful lot of money, be it on a franchise tag, a new contract from the Commanders or a deal with another team next offseason.

Young’s NFL career has been immensely frustrating. He tore his ACL in Week 10 last season, and even before that managed just 26 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 455 snaps. Young’s strong rookie season and memorable collegiate career give reason to believe there’s still a star in there somewhere, but he’s a boom-or-bust proposition in the meantime.

Young impressed as a rookie after being drafted second overall in 2020, producing 44 tackles (32 solo) and 7.5 sacks on 770 snaps in 15 games. The sack total might not stand out, but it's strong production for a 21-year-old playing on a deep D-Line. This year, Young will probably take on a bigger workload with Ryan Kerrigan and Ryan Anderson gone. Young showed additional playmaking with four forced fumbles and three recoveries, one of which he returned for a touchdown. A more effective offense will give Young more pass-rush chances as opponents throw to keep up.

At the risk of assigning unfair expectations, it's nonetheless difficult to see a slow start to Young's NFL career. More than his own level of play, the greatest threat to Young's rookie production is the risk of a low snap count. Montez Sweat is poised to break out at defensive end, yet longtime great Ryan Kerrigan is probably still good enough to push for 800 or so snaps, and 2017 second-round pick Ryan Anderson is another threat to steal hundreds of defensive end snaps. Still, Young projects as an eventual threat to lead the league in sacks annually, and his talent might be compelling to the point of earning the most snaps among Washington linemen. His floor, unfortunately, may be something like 550 snaps.