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Redskins full NFL first-round mock: Is Chase Young the one?

By Ian Cummings

COLLEGE PARK, MD - NOVEMBER 17: Chase Young #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes looks on prior to the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Capital One Field on November 17, 2018 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - NOVEMBER 17: Chase Young #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes looks on prior to the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Capital One Field on November 17, 2018 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /
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STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 13: Yetur Gross-Matos #99 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates against Brian Lewerke #14 of the Michigan State Spartans on October 13, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 13: Yetur Gross-Matos #99 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates against Brian Lewerke #14 of the Michigan State Spartans on October 13, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Edge Rusher. Philadelphia Eagles. Yetur Gross-Matos. 18. player. 54.

The Eagles play the Giants and Redskins twice a year. The Giants have two aging, underperforming tackles, and the Redskins are set to lose Trent Williams in the offseason, when Redskins president Bruce Allen ultimately trades or cuts him. The opportunities are there for sacks. And so far, the Eagles have been fairly proactive in taking them. But there’s still more ground to conquer.

Brandon Graham has been the team’s top sack-getter this year with 6.0 so far, but he will be 32 years old by the 2020 NFL Draft. Derek Barnett, meanwhile, heads into a contract year in 2020, and the Eagles might not be willing to pay him what he wants. Subsequently, the Eagles need to start thinking about the future at one of the most important defensive positions.

Yetur Gross-Matos is the perfect fit for the Eagles’ specific situation. He still needs major refinement in terms of his pass rush plan on a play-to-play basis, but he has perhaps some of the greatest upside in this class at the edge position, outside of Chase Young. Gross-Matos has an incredibly lengthy frame at 6-foot-5, 245, and he’s an explosive, fluid athlete off the snap who can  convert that initial burst into overwhelming force.

Gross-Matos could benefit greatly from a year to learn and develop under Brandon Graham, and once he rises into a starting role, he could take the NFC East by storm.

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