The Washington Redskins have selected DE Chase Young (Ohio State) in the first round (No. 2 overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft. Over the past several years, the Redskins have invested heavily in their defense and Young should add great talent to an already prolific defensive front consisting of Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Matt Ioannidis, Montez Sweat and veteran Ryan Kerrigan.
From 2017 to 2019 in college, Young (6-5, 265 lbs.) played in 38 games and recorded 99 tackles (69 solo) and 42.5 tackles for loss. He also had 30.5 sacks, 10 forced fumbles and he defended eight passes.
As a junior in 2019, Young registered 16.5 sacks which set the Ohio State single-season record, the highest total in the nation. The DeMatha Catholic High School alum (in Maryland) also led the nation in forced fumbles with seven. He was named a unanimous All-American and Heisman Trophy finalist, where he was the ninth defensive player out of 159 total finalists since 1982.
Young was named both the Chuck Bednarik Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy winners, which both are presented annually to college football’s top defensive players. He was also named to the 2019 College Football All-America team and first-team All-Big Ten.
Young, now 21, won the state football championship during his senior season. He was named Washington Post’s all-metropolitan defensive player of the year and was included on the U.S. Army All-American and American Family Insurance All-US Football teams. He was born April 14, 1999.