Sports Illustrated - USA (2020-04)

APRIL 2020 75

MINUTE

GUIDE

FROM ‘CAN’T-MISS’ PROSPECTS

TO DO-IT-ALL DEFENDERS

TO NAMES YOU NEED TO

REMEMBER (INCLUDING SOME

YOU KNOW ALREADY)

¬^ WE’LL START not necessarily with the top selection,
but the best prospect in this class. The first 83 drafts have
proved that there are no sure things, but Ohio State edge
defender Chase Young is awfully close.
The Bengals are expected to use the No. 1 choice on a
quarterback, but Young could be just as transformative
as all but the upper-echelon passers. Just look at what his
former teammate Nick Bosa did for the 49ers last season.
A pass rusher generates not just sacks but also game-
altering takeaways by forcing QBs to speed up to a point
that throws the entire offense out of sync. In Bosa’s case,
a San Francisco D that had a record-low seven takeaways
in 2018 finished sixth in the NFL with 27 in 2019.
Young doesn’t have the repertoire of polished moves
that Bosa brought as a rookie, but he has a rare collection
of physical tools. His first-step quickness is absurd. He’s
6' 5" with 34-inch arms, and at 265 pounds moves as well
as middle linebackers carrying 30 fewer pounds. His clos-
ing burst is terrifying: Even when it looks as if he’s been
neutralized, he can narrow the gap with a quarterback

or a ballcarrier in a snap. All that athleticism gives him

playmaking range that to make up for his shortcomings,

such as locating the ball in the run game.

Draft analysts have grown accustomed to pointing out

that sack total doesn’t predict future success. After all,

the last two defenders to go No. 1 were Jadeveon Clowney

(three sacks in his final season) and Myles Garrett (8^1 / 2 ),

and both turned out to be bona fide stars. Young won’t

face production questions after leading all divisions of

NCAA football with 16^1 / 2 sacks in 2019 (and that was

despite serving a midseason two-game suspension for

the high crime of taking a loan to f ly his girlfriend to a

bowl game).

Washington is expected to take Young at No. 2,

even more of a no-brainer in a class that is thin on

difference-making edge rushers. Ultrafast but ultra-

raw K’Lavon Chaisson of LSU, savvy but athletically

underwhelming A.J. Epenesa of Iowa and physically

impressive but unrefined Yetur Gross-Matos of

Penn State will be in the first-round discussion. But teams

BY GARY

GRAMLING

PHOTOGRAPH BY

JEFF HAYNES

NFL

DRAFT

PREVIEW 2020