The Washington Commanders‘ offseason is barely a month old and we’ve already seen enough scorching takes to last a lifetime.
For some reason, fans suddenly think the team is above rolling out Carson Wentz, Jimmy Garoppolo, Jameis Winston or another mid-tier quarterback after it deployed a rotation of Ryan Fitzpatrick, Taylor Heinicke, Alex Smith, Dwayne Haskins and Kyle Allen the last two seasons.
Let’s snap out of it and come back to reality.
Somehow, though, this delusion reached NFL front office’s after an executive told The Athletic’s Ben Standig that the Commanders could “justify” (To whom? We have not a clue!) trading a first-round pick for Garoppolo.
We know the NFL offseason comes with rumors of the conceivable and farfetched variety, but the sheer number of unbearable takes and scoops is starting to erase some of the allure and excitement of the QB search.
Amazingly enough, this trend reached a boiling point this past week when fans (not all, but a significant number) made their voices heard on Twitter about being content with including Chase Young in a package for a star quarterback.
This was even followed by Standig sharing in a mailbag that “. . . almost anyone on the roster is available if the result is Washington improving at quarterback. In Young’s case that would mean the Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson level.”
In other words, the Young trade buzz is growing louder, so let’s highlight a few reasons why the Commanders would be insane to trade him.
3 reasons the Commanders shouldn’t trade Chase Young
3. Franchise edge rushers are hard to find
What are the most important non-quarterback positions in the NFL?
If defensive end isn’t second, it’s surely third right behind left tackle, and fans want Washington to trade their franchise edge rusher, who won’t turn 23 until April and is a local kid from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, the second a star QB becomes available?
The fact of the matter is these players don’t grow on trees. Unless one falls into their lap in the middle rounds of the draft or they convince TJ Watt, Myles Garrett or Nick Bosa to leave their current teams, the Commanders aren’t finding one this offseason.
Take a look at the free agent market, for instance.
Do you really want a 33-year-old Von Miller anchoring the defense? What about a soon-to-be 32-year-old in Chandler Jones who is due for regression? A true wild card in Randy Gregory? The oft-injured Jadeveon Clowney?
Harold Landry fits the age profile of Washington’s defensive core, but good luck convincing Tennessee to let him leave after a career year in 2021 during which he posted 12.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and 22 QB hits.
This would be a different conversation if there were elite edge rushers waiting to be picked up off the streets. But the only “available” ones are either destined to re-sign with their current team, in Landry’s case, or past their primes.
In other words, stop pretending that Young is expendable.
2. One down year doesn’t mean he’s not destined for greatness
This is crazy to us. A former Defensive Rookie of the Year who received an 85% share of the first-place votes is suddenly average or doesn’t have a high ceiling because he struggled as a sophomore with offenses giving him more attention?
Do we realize how ridiculous that sounds?
Yes, Young had a disappointing 2021. There’s no hiding from that. Three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and three QB hits over nine games is a far cry from what Washington expected when they invested the second overall pick in Young.
However, to say he performed poorly is hyperbole. According to Pro Football Focus, Young generated 24 pressures, 17 hurries and 16 run stops. Project that over an 18-game sample size and you’re talking 48 pressures, 34 hurries and 32 run stops. Those numbers don’t look so bad, don’t they?
In addition, Young was also one of the best run defenders at his position. The Ohio State product’s 84.5 run defense grade from PFF ranked fourth among edge rushers behind DeMarcus Lawrence, Von Miller and Cameron Jordan.
We fully acknowledge Young needs to produce more sacks and splash plays, but this notion that he was a liability in 2021 is so exaggerated.
Ron Rivera noted the former Buckeye struggled navigating chip blocks. Give Young and the coaching staff the offseason to figure out how to overcome this obstacle. Not all highly-touted edge rushers enjoy immediate success and Young has a dominant rookie campaign to fall back on.
If you want to let a lackluster nine-game stretch convince you that Young isn’t destined for greatness, be our guest.
We, on the other hand, are keeping the faith in No. 99.
1. Washington has other tradable assets
For crying out loud, people. For crying out loud!
You really want Washington to trade Young when they have Montez Sweat and Daron Payne, arguably two of the most intriguing trade chips in the entire NFL, on the roster? Care to explain the logic behind this bright idea?
It’s long been accepted that there’s going to be one, maybe two, odd men out on the Commanders’ defensive line. With Jonathan Allen locked up, that means one (or two) of Young, Sweat and Payne likely won’t have a future in Landover.
If we had a say in the matter, we’d keep Young and Payne, and include Sweat in a potential blockbuster trade for a star quarterback. In the slim chance that Payne wants out after his sideline spat with Allen and he deleted Washington from his Instagram account, then by all means swap him for Sweat.
For the sake of argument, though, let’s compare Sweat’s best season (2020) to Young’s rookie campaign, which just so happened to be in 2020.
- Sweat: 9 sacks, 12 TFL, 20 QB hits, 6 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles
- Young: 7.5 sacks, 10 TFL, 12 QB hits, 4 passes defended, 4 forced fumbles
Young also added a defensive touchdown and a Pro Bowl for good measure.
We have nothing against Sweat, or Payne for that matter, but fans seemingly not thinking twice about including Young in a package for an Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson or Deshaun Watson when Sweat and Payne are approaching the final year of their rookie contracts (which makes them more tradable) just proves our point.
Don’t overthink this. Trading Young would be an awful look or Washington, regardless of which QB he’d help them net in return. Three first-round picks and one of Sweat or Payne would do the trick. Don’t convince yourselves otherwise.