Chase Young Excels in the Spotlight and Wins Defensive Rookie of The Year
With the second pick of the 2020 NFL draft, the Washington Football Team selected Chase Young. This pick turned out to be everything the Washington Football Team hoped of. Being the second pick of the NFL draft, along with being the first defensive player selected, comes with high expectations. With former Buckeye teammate Joe Burrow going first to Cincinnati, Chase Young was selected second overall to the Washington Football Team. Young posted very impressive numbers with 7.5 sacks (which lead all rookies), 44 total tackles, 4 forced fumbles, and 3 fumble recoveries. These numbers from Young are what made him a clear choice for the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. Out of the 50 votes, Young took a dominant 42 1/2 first place votes with Carolina’s Panthers safety Jeremy Chinn coming in second with 4 1/2 first place votes.
The Washington Football Team has done a very good job bolstering their defensive line through the draft. Young was a major addition on what has become one of the best defensive front in the NFL. Alongside Young are fellow first round picks Jonathan Allen, Montez Sweat, and Daron Payne. Young made his impressive debut for the Washington Football Team versus the division rival Eagles and made an immediate impact. He posted a 4 tackle game with 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. It was a little piece of what Young provided his team throughout the year.
The most interesting part of Young’s rookie season was not a special sack, QB hit, or a forced fumble. It was the fact he was named a captain on December 27th. After the demise of Dwayne Haskins with off the field issues, Young was voted a captain by his teammates. As a rookie, this is a high acknowledgement.
This move was the right decision going forward. Young’s leadership ability has been raved about around the locker room and by his head coach Ron Rivera. “Because of the way he brings this energy to us as a football team, the way he handles who he is, there is an infectiousness to it and his teammates feed off of it,” Rivera said to NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay. “That’s the thing that has been impressive to me.”
