Commanders DE Chase Young Bouncing Back in 2023?
If the Washington Commanders are going to reach the postseason while playing in a division where they were the only non-playoff team a season ago, one of the things they will need to happen is have the version of defensive end Chase Young that won the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2020 re-emerge.
After his successful rookie campaign, the former No. 2 overall pick was underwhelming in nine games in 2021, before suffering a torn ACL that ended that campaign and turned 2022 in a lost year. The Commanders didn't pick up Young's fifth-year option, meaning he's entering a contract year.
While Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills will almost certainly win the Comeback Player of the Year Award if he steps on the field in 2023, Young has a chance to be the runner-up for the honor if he becomes the destructive force he flashed being in his rookie season.
The unfortunate part for Young from an individual standpoint is that even with the Commanders declining his fifth-year option, he doesn't have a realistic path to free agency if he performs well in 2023. One of the reasons Washington was willing to gamble and decline the extra year first-round picks are eligible for on their rookie contracts was because they know the franchise tag is still in their back pocket.
But if Young is healthy and explosive in 2023, Washington will have one of the best defensive lines in the league, as the former Ohio State Buckeye is part of a group that already has gotten quite a bit of production out of fellow pass rusher Montez Sweat, along with interior defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne. And if Sam Howell steps forward and plays like a franchise quarterback, you never know what could happen in the always-fluid NFC East.
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