Why Saahdiq Charles is the most important of the Redskins rookies in 2020

Chase Young is the marquee name among the Washington Redskins rookies, but the performance of Saahdiq Charles will be the most important among the rookie class in 2020.

With the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Washington Redskins landed Chase Young. The edge rusher from Ohio State was widely considered to be the best player in the draft class and while the ‘Skins didn’t necessarily need another pass rusher, they were able to add a potentially elite talent to the fold.

While Young will upgrade the Redskins’ defense and surely figures to play a massive role on their defense for years to come, he’s actually not the most important of the team’s rookies this season. Why? Because they already had a strong pass rush with or without Young. And while he may bring the defensive line from great to elite, another rookie may have a bigger impact on the team’s 2020 season.

That would be fourth-round tackle Saahdiq Charles. The LSU product was the second overall pick in the fourth round of the draft but if not for some character concerns, he probably would’ve been selected earlier. Charles will get a crack at the starting left tackle job and his ability, or inability, to win that battle could determine both how the Redskins fare on offense and whether or not they’ll need a left tackle during the 2021 offseason.

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Charles will likely compete with free-agent signee Cornelius Lucas for the starting left tackle job. Lucas was a strong swing tackle for the Chicago Bears last year and started eight total games. He gave up just one sack. That said, almost all of his action came at right tackle (472 snaps to just two on the left side). He could switch sides and still be effective, but it’s not a guarantee that the 6-8 tackle will find success there.

At LSU, Charles was the starter at left tackle. He has a good chunk of experience there and was rock-solid blocking for Joe Burrow last season en route to a National Championship. He’ll need to adjust to the NFL level but has the athletic ability necessary to do that. The question is about his strength. He has bulked up this offseason, but will he be strong enough to hold up against the NFL’s stronger edge rushers? Only time will tell.

So, why is Charles’ performance so important? If Charles finds success as a rookie and wins the starting job, the Redskins will likely have an answer at left tackle and a replacement for Trent Williams. If Charles can’t win the left tackle job, it’s up to Lucas to be a solid starter unless Geron Christian can make the leap (unlikely). And they’d also have to hope that Morgan Moses can improve his play at right tackle which is far from a given; he has logged a combined 30 penalties the past two seasons.

Also, if Charles and Lucas both struggle on the left side, that part of the line could become a weakness and that could hinder Dwayne Haskins‘ ability to find success and develop. And that’s not something that the team will want to see happen to their former first-round quarterback in a make or break year.

Long term, Young will be the most important pick of this class, as he is likely to be the best player that the Redskins selected. But short term, Charles’ performance will have the biggest impact on the team solely because there is such a vast difference between him finding success and him struggling.

If Young takes time adjusting to the NFL level, the Redskins still have Montez Sweat, Ryan Kerrigan, Jonathan Allen, Matt Ioannidis, Daron Payne, and Ryan Anderson available to rush the passer. But if Charles has issues, tackle could quickly become the weakest position on the Redskins roster.

It will be interesting to see how Charles can fare in 2020. But rest assured if he plays well, it will provide a big boost to the Washington offense.