Chase Young

[Neophyte]

Lots of opinions out there on this young man, including my own (which isn't favorable at the moment but isn't set in stone either).

Baldinger seems to think Chase is on his way back and posted this on Twitter (year, not gonna call it X - ever).



While these plays are wonderful, the ones I have stuck in my head are of him dropping into zone pass coverage and being ineffective, and of him jogging downfield after the play has passed him by.

SilentThreat threw out more in depth stats for Chase on last night's pod that included QB pressures and hits, both of which cast Chase in a better light.

Your thoughts?

 

[Boone]

If Young wasn’t the ‘consensus top player’ in his draft, the bar would be a lot lower. We are very tough in our assessments of him because we should be. Given his innate athletic ability and where he was drafted he should have game-changing ability.

We really haven’t seen anything like that. The criticism some find ridiculous isn’t ‘he sucks’, it’s that he hasn’t lived up to his potential. Obviously the injury has been a big factor. If I didn’t see him giving up on plays if he’s not initially successful I would be kinder in my assessment. But I do see him do that and for a guy we have so much invested in, I think it’s unacceptable.

 

[Chris]

There is a very similar play by Fletcher Cox on the Howell 20yd scramble with 5:46 remaining. Cox is much older and heavier though, so he was probably gassed. 😉

 

[Boone]

I will say this… if you look at the stats for Fletcher Cox (drafted with the 12th pick of the 2012 draft) his first 3 seasons, Young’s numbers compare very favorably. Cox has more combined tackles but in terms of sacks, TFL, and QB hits - they have similar numbers.

So there’s that.

 

[burgold]

I will say this… if you look at the stats for Fletcher Cox (drafted with the 12th pick of the 2012 draft) his first 3 seasons, Young’s numbers compare very favorably. Cox has more combined tackles but in terms of sacks, TFL, and QB hits - they have similar numbers.

So there’s that.

Maybe this has changed, but comparing a DT and a DE on sack totals seems off. A DE should get way more sacks, tackles, etc.

 

[Boone]

That’s fair. I only compared them because Chris mentioned Cox.

 

[Boone]

If you want a more apt comparison, let’s look at JJ Watt’s first two years (32 games).

26 sacks
137 combined tackles
52 TFL
62 QB hits

Here are Chase’s career numbers (30 games).

11.5 sacks
84 combined tackles
16 TFL
21 QB hits

Now that is a damning comparison - and Watt was the 11th pick in his draft.

 

[Chris]

Maybe this has changed, but comparing a DT and a DE on sack totals seems off. A DE should get way more sacks, tackles, etc.

I agree that DEs should get more sacks, not so sure about tackles.

I was only using Cox as an example of loafing/jogging on a play. I realize that we are more focused on our supposed star players. By any measure Young has been mostly a disappointment outside of his rookie season. For a #2 overall draftee he has not lived up to expectations, no matter how high.

 

[burgold]

Yeah, I was hoping Chase would be our Reggie White.

 

[Boone]

?

 

[Miles Monroe]

Lets see what his entire season looks like. We're 4 games in, and it's amazing how much can change over the course of a season.

 

[SkinsOrlando]

Lets see what his entire season looks like. We're 4 games in, and it's amazing how much can change over the course of a season.

Very true, however after his rookie season and prior to injury in 2021 he wasn't exactly looking like the player we anticipated him to be and was seemingly regressing or unlike many early draft picks, the hype turned out to be, hype.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

I haven’t seen anything with Young that will make me change my opinion that I don’t think he’s on this team next year. I have more thoughts on that but won’t get bogged down in that until later in the year. I just don’t see the explosiveness that made him a difference maker. And that is what we expected, a difference maker.

But with the jogging on plays, I noticed that against Buffalo and was wondering what he was doing. Then I started watching other lineman and I saw the same thing. I looked for it in other NFL games, and saw the same thing. One in particular was a GB lineman jogging once Goff ran past him. This isn’t an elite athlete like Allen or Hurts, it’s Goff and guys aren’t chasing. This past week, there was a play when Hurts scrambled to the other side of where Young was and he just jogged, but so did Payne who was even closer to Hurts when he left the pocket. I don’t know if these guys are coached not to chase these QBs down field, or if that is just the way players play it. So many QBs take off these days and they know they won’t catch them, so they may be choosing not to get exhausted on that play. It does look bad, but if you watch a play, most lineman are doing that. I say most because there is always that guy running all over the field. I just think there are less of those guys these days. I’m not excusing it and if that’s not what Young or anyone else is supposed to be doing, then the coaches need to be all over those guys.

 

[burgold]

I agree that the jogging is a bad look. With Chase, he sort of courts bad looks

Skips off season practices
Takes 2 months to get over a “stinger”
Jogs

All of these smell bad but may be totally legit. OTOH, they just scream of a lack of fire and want to.

 

[Neophyte]

There is nothing legit about skipping off-season practices. You don't see the player leaders on this team doing that. McLauren, Howell, Allen, Curl, Sweat, Way - they are all present and accounted for.

 

[DieselPwr44]

Let's be honest here. We all expect Chase Young to play like Micah Parsons does in Dallas: a game wrecker that other teams game plan for.

He's nowhere near that disruptive. All the off field distractions he brings upon himself only tarnishes him more and leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of fans.

He's just another over hyped pass rusher along the lines of Arrington,Orakpo, etc. that just never lived up to the billing.

 

[Knightingale]

Ahhh Chase…

That rookie season showed us a glimpse of a potential he never lived up to. I feel it’s still in there, but I don’t think we’ll see it in the Burgundy and Gold.

I feel like he’s never truly found his path.

In year 2 he had all this hype. Mostly, it has to be said, self generated. Remember how they thought they’d break the sack record? In order to try he went rogue, and we got multiple reports of the coaches just trying to get him to play in the system.

Then injury. Last year he came back eventually but it was clear he didn’t trust the leg.

So now he’s in year 4.

It feels to me like he’s now on board with the coaching, but he’s missing chemistry with the rest of the line. Sweat, Payne, and Allen have now got three years together. They know what each other is doing. They have chemistry. Chase doesn’t. He’s not there yet. I think that’s why he presses too hard going solo. We see these game wrecking moments, but they mostly seem out of sync with the rest of the line. I think he could be devastating when he learns to play with them consistently.

I’m intrigued to see the season play out and if he gels with this front. Traditionally JDRs defenses have stepped up as the season progresses.

Problem is, the clock is ticking and it’s pretty clear that if one of them has to go, then it’ll be Sweat that stays. He’s been more reliable, less injury prone, has chemistry with Payne, plays in the system, has good character.

Unless Chase really goes off over the rest of the season I think his days are numbered.

 

[burgold]

It feels to me like he’s now on board with the coaching, but he’s missing chemistry with the rest of the line. Sweat, Payne, and Allen have now got three years together. They know what each other is doing. They have chemistry. Chase doesn’t. He’s not there yet. I think that’s why he presses too hard going solo. We see these game wrecking moments, but they mostly seem out of sync with the rest of the line. I think he could be devastating when he learns to play with them consistently.

I’m intrigued to see the season play out and if he gels with this front. Traditionally JDRs defenses have stepped up as the season progresses.

Highlighting this because this is why a bunch of us have been handwringing about him missing the offseason four years in a row. You don't only gel during games. Chase skipped May and June as he always did and then wound up skipping preseason because of the stinger. So, he gave himself no chance to develop chemistry with his linemates.

Maybe he does play himself into a groove. Maybe Del Rio's defense looks respectable in the second half? It usually improves as the year goes on (at least statistically if not in real terms). But how can he be in sync with Sweat, Payne, and Allen if he never works at it with them. He spends all his time working solo and it has never paid dividends on the field. It's gotten to a definition of insanity thing and he can't or won't see it. That or he doesn't care.

 

[Boone]

For the Cooley worshippers…

 

[Primus Porcus]

not a worshipper, but this is a contradiction to some of the other stuff that are hyping him up.