It was the spring of 2020 and WFT fans everywhere thought that they had found their Lawrence Taylor, Dwight Freeney or Bosa brother. Young was the generational pass rusher who was going to elevate the entire defense based on the havoc he created collapsing the pocket.
Before we get into what Young has or hasn't been, let's address the elephant in the locker room, Justin Herbert. If you peek your head out on any social media platform you will find someone arguing that Herbert should have been taken over Chase. Knock it off. Chase Young was the #1 draft prospect unanimously on all big boards at the time. Herbert was in the 20s. See for your self NFL Big Board & Bleacher report Big Board.
Now back to Young.
Chase Young's rookie season was stellar. In addition to his 7.5 sacks he had 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries and one for a touchdown. He also had 10 tackles for loss and oh btw
Then came 2021 and along with it the headlines.
Suddenly Chase Young was no longer the DROY and the term "bust" was being floated around. Chase wasn't finding his way to the quarterback and Washginton wasn't winning. The Chase Young write off had hit full swing when in November of 2021 he tore up his knee and his sophomore season was done.
What's worse is that the defense seemed to play more soundly without young. Fans would see or hear very little about Young until his reemergence at OTAs in the spring.
The offseason as a whole seemed to move on without Chase Young.
2022 is going to be important for the legacy of Chase Young in DC. There is no doubt he has enough time between now and the end of his contract to prove that he was the right pick but he'll forever be tied to the success/failures of Justin Herbert. Fans seem to be much less forgiving than PFF ratings which had Chase as a 75+ rating even in his "slumped" 2nd season.
Fans are starving for dominance. Chase was a 2nd overall pick so that's what is expected of him. The case against Chase is that there have been several pass rushers that have come into the league since chase and been able to reach higher performance milestones than Chase in less time.
By the end of this year Chase Young and Washington fans alike should really know who Chase Young is as an NFL a pass rusher. Those who have written him off will either have to eat their words or incessantly brag on socials about how right they were all along. The good news is, is that despite all his talent, Herbert doesn't appear to be on a collision course with a Super Bowl any time soon. Thank the good Lord for that because the level of animosity for Young would reach a 99.