4 Commanders players primed to have career seasons in 2022

3. Montez Sweat/Chase Young

Truth be told, Sweat and Young could turn in career seasons in 2022. The reason we included both, however, comes down to the possibility of Young starting the year on injured reserve. That would knock him out for the first month, so he’d be hard-pressed to put together a career year in just 13 games even if he hits the ground running.

Then again, stranger things have happened.

It’s crazy to think about given their talent, but neither Sweat nor Young have logged double-digit sacks in their respective careers. Sweat came awfully close in 2020 when he tallied nine QB takedowns, whereas Young recorded 7.5 as a rookie before his ACL injury derailed his sophomore season.

The onus will be on Sweat to produce if Young lands on IR — or is eased back into things early on — and the jury is still out in terms of whether the Mississippi State product can produce on a consistent basis. In 2020, he went eight games without producing a sack. In 2021, he managed five sacks in 10 games.

As a first-round pass rusher, we need more than a 50-50 chance that he’ll post a QB takedown. Motivated more than ever after his adversity-filled 2021 (fractured jaw and tragic death of his brother) and having his fifth-year option exercised, we like Sweat to put together his best season yet in 2022.