Washington coach Ron Rivera knows what a future Hall of Fame pass-rusher looks like.
So even if rookie Chase Young isn’t quite as tall as Julius Peppers, Rivera sees comparisons to the former Panthers defensive end.
“He’s not quite as big as Julius was,” Rivera said, via the team’s official website. “He’s built like him; he’s a mini version of him. He’s got a little bit more of that initial explosion. Julius was very long and his explosion was good, but because of his length it seemed even better than it really, truly was. I mean Julius was phenomenal, and this is a young man who could be that type of player.”
Considering Peppers retired with 159.5 sacks (fourth most all-time), that’s a considerable compliment to the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
He didn’t stop there, finding a current star with similar traits.
“Von Miller comes to my mind when I watch Chase and I watch him work out and I watch the tape he’s putting out,” Rivera said. “So I’m pretty excited about seeing him.”
He should be, as Young joins a deep and talented defensive front, which will allow the rookie to stay fresh.
“What we’d like to do is get him out there, get him going, see where he’s going to fit and then from that point use him, but use him the right way,” Rivera said. “Use him to where if there’s 70 plays in a game, he’s not playing all 70, he’s going to play somewhere between 40-45 because we’re going to rotate guys.”
Being able to rotate with a group including Montez Sweat and Ryan Kerrigan should keep some pressure off Young, although the comparisons his coach is making does nothing for that effort.