The Washington Redskins made a splash on Thursday night by selecting Chase Young, a pass-rusher out of Ohio State who is arguably the best prospect in the entire draft.
There had been chatter about the Redskins trading away this pick with teams such as the Falcons, Dolphins, and Jaguars among the teams looking to trade up. In the end, however, they stood pat and committed to the top prospect who they’ve had their sights set on for many months.
Young fell to the Redskins at No. 2 after the Cincinnati Bengals landed LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the No. 1 pick. The marriage between Washington and Young was widely expected. In fact, no team lower than No. 3 in the draft even reached out to the star.
In 12 games in 2019, Young made 32 solo tackles and assisted on another 14. He also posted an impressive 16.5 sacks while deflecting a trio of passes and forcing seven fumbles.
Jonathan Allen and Matt Ioannidis round out the list of Redskins starting defensive ends while their starting strongside linebacker is Montez Sweat, who was selected in the first round of the 2019 draft after the Redskins traded up to acquire him.
Washington finished the 2019 season with a 3-13 record. Their future is bright, however, with a young offense led by Dwayne Haskins and new head coach Ron Rivera.