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The Super Bowl is over and the Kansas City Chiefs won their first NFL Championship in 50 years. Now the draft is everyone’s focus as we head into the offseason. The Washington Redskins were terrible last season and now hold the #2 pick in the NFL for their awfulness. Chase Young is the consensus #1 player in this year’s draft, and he is also the consensus #2 pick going to the Redskins in 99% of current mock drafts. The debate about how good Young is/can be, and the value he represents at #2 will go on until his card is handed in in Las Vegas in April. The trade back crowd has strongly voiced their opinions, and I’ve found one trade back mock courtesy of Walter Football to wet their whistle. The only problem is that Walter doesn’t detail the full trade, and only gives the Redskins a 2nd this year. What would it take to pass on Chase Young this year?
TRADE!!!
From talking to people in Miami, I’ve come to the conclusion that it makes far more sense for the Redskins to trade down than the Lions. Sure, they lose out on Chase Young, but picking Young was problematic anyway because that means they’ll have four first-round picks on the defensive line, which would make re-signing everyone impossible. We saw this a couple of years ago when the Browns passed on Bradley Chubb in favor of Denzel Ward for the same reason. Young is a better prospect, but if the Redskins can trade down, I think they’d do it. Also, the Dolphins moving up to No. 3 would be nonsensical because another team can just leap over them up to No. 2.
I believe Tua Tagovailoa will be a top-three pick. The demand for quarterbacks is too high. The Dolphins, Chargers, Panthers and perhaps even the Buccaneers, Jaguars and Colts are teams that could be interested in moving up for the Alabama prospect. Tagovailoa, of course, suffered a serious injury this past season, but he will reportedly throw before the NFL Draft, which is huge. It sounds as though Tagovaila’s injury wasn’t as bad as it was initially suspected to be, which is great news. It’ll also mean that some team will be more eager to trade up for him, so I expect either the Redskins or Lions to move down.
The Dolphins are currently slotted ahead of all the other teams I mentioned above, but they seem to love Tagovailoa, so they could trade up to make sure that another team doesn’t leap over them.
#5 Jeff Okudah, CB, Ohio State
Jeff Okudah is not as good of a prospect as his Buckeye teammate, but he fills a far bigger need for the Redskins. Washington’s secondary was an abomination last year, as Josh Norman’s play has completely fallen off. Quinton Dunbar played well, but he was the only cornerback on the Redskins’ roster who wasn’t terrible in 2019.
Okudah is a big, athletic, speedy cornerback with immense upside. He’s a bit stiff, but that’s commonplace from tall cornerbacks.
Round 2(#39): Cole Kmet, TE, Notre Dame
This is one of the selections the Redskins acquired from the Dolphins in the first-round trade.
The Redskins need a tight end, especially in the wake of Vernon Davis’ retirement. Cole Kmet would be a nice weapon for Dwayne Haskins.
Round 3: Terrell Lewis, DE/OLB, Alabama
If the Redskins trade down from No. 2, perhaps they’ll find some edge-rushing depth during the second day of the draft. Terrell Lewis was once a staple of my 2019 NFL Mock Draft, but he returned to school after an injury-plagued 2018 campaign.
Round 4: Kendrick Rogers, WR, Texas A&M
The Redskins could stand to add another receiver to go along with Terry McLaurin and Steven Sims Jr.
Kendrick Rogers has flashed some major upside, but he’ll need to show improved durability to be chosen in the first round.
This could be the easiest pick on the board, and considering the Redskins were 10th in the league with 46 sacks, it doesn’t have much to do with a particular need. No, this instead has everything to do with the special talent of Young, who has one of the highest grades I’ve given a player in two decades of scouting. Last year’s No. 2 pick and former Buckeyes teammate Nick Bosa was a difference-maker in Year 1, but the scary truth is that Young is an even better prospect. He can line up opposite Montez Sweat at defensive end or drop back into a 3-4 outside linebacker role. It doesn’t matter — Young will be in the face of opposing quarterbacks every Sunday. He led the nation with 16.5 sacks in 2019, and he missed two games.
If you scanned Washington’s depth chart, you probably wouldn’t pick out an edge rusher as its top need. It might not even be in the top three. And yet, the Redskins absolutely can’t pass on Young — unless they get bowled over with an offer from a team trading up. With 16.5 sacks in 2019, Young was truly dominant, and he’ll make an instant impact at the next level. Yes, Washington has veteran Ryan Kerrigan, who has one year left on his contract, and just took Montez Sweat (seven sacks in Year 1) in the first round, but Young has All-Pro talent and is my top-ranked prospect overall. New coach Ron Rivera will love him.
Just like the No. 1 overall pick in this draft, the second pick is almost locked in—the Redskins should select Ohio State pass-rusher Chase Young.
There will be talk and speculation about drafting a quarterback or trading this pick—both of which technically could happen but are incredibly unlikely given what we know about Ron Rivera, lead personnel man Kyle Smith and the direction this team wants to take.
Young, like Nick Bosa last year, is too good to pass up at No. 2 overall. Even if this isn’t a top-tier need (Bosa wasn’t either for the 49ers), sometimes you have to take the best player available. Especially when the player is at the second-most important position in football.
With Young on the roster, Washington will have four first-rounders and stud Matt Ioannidis on the defensive line for 2020.
Round 3: Damon Arnette, CB, Ohio State
Round 4: Lloyd Cushenberry III, IOL, LSU
Quartney Davis, WR, Texas A&M
Round 5: Colby Parkinson, TE, Stanford
Round 7: Omar Bayless, WR, Arkansas State
Terence Steele, OT, Texas Tech
Ron Rivera and Jack Del Rio could unleash Young on NFC East opponents as a skilled, athletic pass rusher with a high-revving motor.
It’s just a no-brainer here. Based upon pure talent and upside, Young is the clear front-runner in my book.
The Redskins already have some talented pieces on the defensive line, but Young is a once-in-a-decade talent.
Young’s the top defender in the class. This is an easy pick.
Round 3: Trey Adams, OT, Washington
Chase Young is the best NFL prospect in this draft class, and while it’s always possible Washington falls in love with somebody else before the draft, this should be the pick.
Given the way Burrow played in 2019, the Bengals shouldn’t even take calls about trading down. And while we love Chase Young, Washington should listen to offers — but unless they’re blown away, take the layup, draft Young, and spend the rest of the draft rebuilding around Dwayne Haskins.
Young qualifies as a better prospect than recent Ohio State studs Joey and Nick Bosa. With defensive-minded Ron Rivera hired as head coach, assuming the Redskins don’t get a can’t-refuse offer to trade back, they should jump at the chance to get this cornerstone talent for the team’s defensive rebuild. Young (6-5, 265 pounds) is a game-changing disruptor who had 16.5 sacks in only 12 games as a junior.
Chase Young is an elite talent that a non-quarterback needy team cannot pass up. Are there bigger needs than pass rusher on the Washington Redskins’ roster? Absolutely. But Young’s skill set transcends need. He can be paired with the other talent in Washington’s front-seven to make it a strength of the roster. Given the coaching and personnel, Washington’s defense has the makings of an exciting unit that should take some stress off an offense full of young players. Young has the upside to become one of the NFL’s most dynamic defensive playmakers.
We’ll get several months worth of speculation trying to convince us there’s any other possible outcome for the Washington Redskins and the second-overall pick but we’d only be kidding ourselves to buy it.
The only way Washington takes a different route is if a team decides to give them a Robert Griffin III level package of three or more first-round picks to jump ahead of the Detroit Lions to ensure a quarterback of its choice. I have a hard time seeing it — so the best player available is the choice at two.
Another slam-dunk selection.
Young is pound for pound the best prospect in this class, and makes complete sense for a team already committed to their QB of the future.
There is seemingly less intrigue with the second pick than the first. We haven’t heard from Young in some time, and he’s not the type to slate teams anyway. This is one of the easiest picks to project ever.
Widely perceived to be this draft’s top overall prospect, the Maryland native is also a natural fit for the ‘Skins. Young compiled an Ohio State single-season record 16½ sacks in 2019 (in just 12 games) and should nicely man one of the edges as Washington switches to a 4-3 defensive front under new coach Ron Rivera.
Young might be the only prospect you can argue being better than Burrow right now. Since Washington has their QB of the future in Dwayne Haskins, they can pair Young with some other stout defenders under new head coach Ron Rivera to give them a fierce defense.
Chase Young is a Jadeveon Clowney/Myles Garrett level prospect who could turn the Washington defense into something truly scary.
Chase Young is a stud and the greatest talent in this class. The Redskins are lucky to get him here at No. 2 since the Bengals need a QB.
Young is a transcendent talent, he is an absolute monster off the edge indicative of his school-record 16.5 sacks. Young is a game wrecker that has the potential to be in the same class of the Von Millers and Khalil Macks of the world.
Chase Young and last year’s first-rounder Montez Sweat should strike fear in opponents coming off the edge for years to come.
While Dwayne Haskins didn’t solidify any sort of franchise quarterback status with his performance in Year 1, we’re not going pass on a talent like Young to take another swing at the signal-caller position. Young is the best player in the draft regardless of position, and he plays a pretty valuable position in his own right.