3 critical elements Commanders DE Chase Young must prove in 2023
By Dean Jones
Chase Young must prove three-down reliability to Commanders
This is dependent on whether Chase Young can stay healthy. If he manages to avoid the injury bug, then the defensive end needs to prove he can be a true three-down difference-maker on the edge and form a prolific partnership with Montez Sweat next season.
Sweat's been a model of consistency and stayed healthy since joining the Washington Commanders. While the same cannot be said for Young, the player has shown enough qualities to be dominant - albeit from a smaller sample size than the team initially hoped.
Even though Young's demonstrated a lack of legitimate explosiveness as injuries hindered his performance levels over the last two seasons, there is one thing that remains impressive about his in-game contribution. That is a tremendous ability to set the edge and be extremely impactful against the run.
This is arguably the hardest part of playing the defensive end spot. Getting after the quarterback is something that comes more naturally to most, especially considering how hard the run-defending transition can be against bigger, more imposing offensive linemen at the next level.
The Commanders drafted Young to be an elite presence that could emerge as the league's best. While the former Buckeye is some way off that just yet, all hope won't be lost if he picks up where he left off as a rookie in 2020 on a defensive line that is loaded with first-round talent.