Redskins DC Del Rio: DE Young 'just one player'

Washington Redskins defensive end Chase Young brings immense potential and views himself as the best player entering the NFL in 2020.

But Redskins defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio wants everyone to know Young, the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft, is merely one player.

“The biggest thing is that he’s still just one player. But he’s one player that offenses have to deal with,” Del Rio said. “It has an opportunity to create not only disruption and a problem in terms of how the offense feels with him, but also creates opportunities for others. It can in effect kind of raise the level of play throughout the defense.

“Obviously rush and coverage has to go together, and so you’ll hear me talk about that throughout the year. It’s not about just rush, it’s about rush and coverage and them going hand-in-hand. You’re going to need coverage to hold up so that when our defensive line does win, they can get there. You can have the best rush in the world but if you don’t have some coverage and make the quarterback hold it, it’s not going to be positive for you. They go hand-in-hand, but I do believe he can be impactful for us.”

Young, who had 16.5 sacks at Ohio State last season, is viewed as a superior talent to 2019 No. 2 pick Joey Bosa, the NFL Rookie of the Year with the San Francisco 49ers.

Young hasn’t been on the field in an official capacity for the Redskins, with virtual offseason workouts keeping him away from the team facility.

“Chase has been doing what he’s supposed to be doing. He’s been paying attention; he’s been learning the system,” Del Rio said. “For me, I just can’t wait to get going with him, but he’s doing all that he can right now as a member of our defensive line, a member of our Washington Redskins team. I think the sky’s the limit for him in terms of what he’ll be able to bring to us. We obviously have big designs, we think he’s a really good player, and we’re looking forward to getting him involved.”

Del Rio would know a good player when he sees one, considering his previous NFL pass-rushing pupils.

“I’ve been very fortunate,” Del Rio said. “My first year as a defensive coordinator at Carolina, we had [former DE] Julius Peppers. Obviously I go to Denver and we have Von Miller. And then I’m in Oakland and we have Khalil Mack. So when you have special players like that, very impactful players. In particular, if they’re about doing it the right way and everything that we’ve gathered in terms of trying to make the decision to take him where we did indicates that he’s a guy that loves football, that’s going to be a great teammate for us.”

—Field Level Media