WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In the end, Chase Young’s hometown team was never very close to trading away the chance to take him with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Washington head coach Ron Rivera said Thursday night that only teams in the second half of the first round reached out about trading up.
Besides, they were enthralled by what a pass rusher as talented as Young could bring to their defense.
“A lot of good football he played the last couple of years,” Rivera told “Voice of the Redskins” Larry Michael. “Probably as good as anybody I’ve seen. And he’s a guy that can come in and impact our football team. Not just his position, not just the defense, but our football team.”
In addition to doing its recent due diligence on a potential trade, Washington had done its due diligence on Young going back months. Rivera said he watched a lot of film on the Buckeyes’ single-season sack leader and unanimous All-American.
“This is a young man that we’ve watched for quite some time,” Rivera said. “We had an opportunity to visit with him at the combine and we really liked what we heard. We really did.”
Young is the only pick Washington is scheduled to make prior to the third round. What the franchise’s early draft lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. Many analysts considered Young to be the draft’s best overall player, and Rivera agreed.
“I feel very, very fortunate to be able to get him," Rivera told reporters early Friday morning. “I most certainly do believe he’s the best.”
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