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Ranking the Commanders’ in-house replacements for Chase Young

By Jerry Trotta

DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 31: Chase Young #99 of the Washington Football Team reacts to a play in the third quarter of the game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on October 31, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 31: Chase Young #99 of the Washington Football Team reacts to a play in the third quarter of the game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on October 31, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/Getty Images) /
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Washington Commanders fans were dealt disappointing news when the team moved Chase Young to the Reserve/PUP List. The move means Young will be sidelined the first four games and can’t return until Week 5 at the earliest.

It’s not ideal the defense will be without its most explosive pass rusher, but this news shouldn’t come as a surprise if you’ve been following along. His surgery was much more complicated than your standard ACL repair so he was always a long suit up against Jacksonville in Week 1.

The important thing for the Commanders is to get Young back to full-strength. As we witnessed during his rookie season, the 23-year-old has the potential to transform a defense so he should take all the time he needs to get right.

In the meantime, Montez Sweat will have to pick up the slack on the edge. Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne will also have to step up on the interior. But what about the replacements for Young? Let’s power rank the Commanders’ in-house options to determine who might have the greatest impact in Young’s absence.

Ranking the Commanders’ in-house replacements for Chase Young

(Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
(Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

3. Efe Obada

Obada was one of the Commanders’ first external free-agent signings. Like the their other pickups, including Andrew Norwell and Trai Turner, Obada played under Ron Rivera in Carolina. Ironically, Obada comes from Buffalo, whose head coach Sean McDermott coached with Rivera on the Panthers, so his connections are two-fold.

A Nigeria native who came over from London to play in the NFL, Obada has quietly been a productive player in his career. In 10 games last season, Obada logged 3.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, eight quarterback hits and 18 pressures while playing just 35 percent of the snaps.

In 2020, Obada enjoyed his best season as a pro. In 16 games (one start) for the Panthers, he managed 5.5 sacks, four TFLs, 15 quarterback hits, 29 pressures and a 74.4 pass rush grade from Pro Football Focus.

Bottom line? When Obada is on the field he produces. Last season, Washington’s backup defensive ends logged just a 5.9% pass rush win rate. Since 2020, Obada has a 13% pass rush win rate and 10 sacks to show for it.

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