Chase Young Scouting Report

Photo: Getty Images

Welcome back to our scouting reports for some of the top prospects in the 2020 NFL draft. Today we’re scouting the consensus top player in this year’s draft, Chase Young. We’’l be releasing a YouTube video on Chase Young within the next week so be on the lookout for that.

One of the most desired positions in the entire NFL is an elite pass rusher. Every time the draft rolls around, teams who are missing that explosive pass rusher off the edge desperately try to find the next Khalil Mack or Von Miller. Over the past few years, Ohio State has been a pass rusher factory that spits out generational talents like its nothing. Nick and Joey Bosa came out of OSU and took the league by storm and became some of the best defensive ends before they turned 25. Chase Young is the latest goon to come out of Ohio State and he is one of the best pass rushers to come out in the past 10 years.

Chase Young is a rare talent. He is a combination of elite skills and high level production. During his junior season at Ohio State, Young had 16.5 sacks 21 tackles for loss, and a jaw-dropping 7 forced fumbles. He was the best player in the country for a majority of the season (too bad Joe Burrow happened) and was a Heisman finalist, which is a rare accomplishment for a defensive player. Chase Young dominated college football last season and put himself in the conversation for the number one overall pick.

Pros:

• Above average size for a defensive end at 6’5 and 265 lbs.

• Super fast for an edge rusher

• Can flatten his route to the quarterback at about 7 yards because of his speed

• Explodes off the line of scrimmage with incredible get off

• Great at using his hands properly to get past blockers

• Got 16.5 sacks with basically one pass rush move; hand swipes

• Completely changed teams’ game plans - forced Clemson to run a completely different offense which consisted of read options, runs to the opposite side of the field, screens, and fade routes which hardly worked

• Unblockable by tight ends and unstoppable when blocked one on one

• Solid run defender

• Can succeed in a variety of stances on the defensive line (ex: 2, 3, and 4 technique)

• Can play coverage if needed

Cons:

• His pad level is too high at times which hurts his ability to gain leverage on offensive lineman

• Has a variety of pass rush moves, but gets tunnel vision and leans too heavily on hand swipes even when blockers are exposing their chest and practically begging him to bull rush them

Biggest Strength: Speed/Get off

Biggest Weakness: Tunnel vision when it comes to pass rush moves

Position Ranking: 1st

Overall Ranking: 1st

Draft Projection: 2nd

Where He Should Be Drafted: Top 2

Too bad Cincinnati seems to have zeroed in on drafting Joe Burrow, because Chase Young is easily the best prospect in this year’s draft. The more I think about it the more I believe the Bengals should draft Chase Young with the number one pick. This doesn’t mean I don’t like Joe Burrow, because , trust me, I love Burrow and I think he’s an exceptional quarterback, but Chase Young is a generational talent and passing on him is a huge mistake. For Washington Redskins fans this is a time to celebrate. Your crappy franchise run by hallow-skulled morons is about to draft one of the best pass rushers in recent memory who just so happens to fit in perfectly with your new 4-3 defensive scheme. Consider yourselves lucky Washington, you just got yourselves a future all-pro who will terrorize NFC East quarterbacks for years.