Chase Young Will 'Blow Our Minds': Washington Star on J.J. Watt Path?

Is Chase Young "The Next J.J. Watt''? That path can be envisioned.

“Good Morning Football” on the NFL Network recently discussed which players will “blow our minds” in 2021. (Hat-tip USA Today). It was panelist Kyle Brandt who pinpointed the Washington Football Team's No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and the Defensive Rookie of the Year as the "mind-blower'' for the coming season ...

And as a player who might be on a Watt-like track.

Young finished with 7.5 sacks last year, but that isn't the point. The point is about second-year growth from pass-rushers. There are tangible reasons to believe that Young's numbers will jump in 2021, one of them being, as Brandt points out, how he grew as last season marched on.

"If you can think of a more explosive, more talented defensive player right now that you want to buy stock in, I’ll go to Washington and say Chase Young. I think there are special, big, big-time things coming from him. One year in, it seems like he got better as the year went on.''

And then came Brandt's "second-year pass-rusher performance'' list. To wit:

J.J. Watt — 20.5 sacks
Derrick Thomas — 20 sacks
Aldon Smith — 19.5 sacks
Von Miller — 18.5 sacks
Reggie White — 18 sacks

Watt, of course, is the greatest player in Houston Texans history, a multi-time NFL Player of the Year now in Arizona and someday, in Canton.

“This is the list that I think Chase Young is going to be on,” Brandt said. “He’s that good, that fast, that explosive. That whole rookie year had the vibe of ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet.’”