The Loop
Chase Young might actually be strong enough to carry the Redskins’ baggage
I’m going to level with all of you up front: I’m an Ohio State fan. Always have been. Probably always will be. They’re everything I would ordinarily despise in a sports dynasty, but they’re also the only shred of success I’ve ever experienced in my pitiful life as a fan of the Mets, Dolphins, and Tottenham Hotspur, so I’ve clung to the program like grim death. I try to go to games when they venture to the new eastern reaches of the Big Ten and I slurp up the 70 to whatever maulings of Miami of wherever year in, year out. So believe me when I say this:
Chase Young is probably the best player I’ve ever seen don the scarlet and grey. Better than freshman Maurice Clarett. Better than David Boston, Santonio Holmes, and Michael Thomas. Better than AJ Hawk, the Bosa boys, and Zeke. Neck and neck with Craig Krenzel, if you really have to ask. And if this recent, extremely, preposterously ridiculous workout photo is any indication, he is about to devour the NFL like a juicy piece of corn on the cob.
My freakin’ word. This kid is two months into his 21st year and he’s putting up so much steel that it’s about to snap the other steel holding it. If there was one worry coming into the big leagues, it’s that his 6’ 5” frame and upright playing style might get him bullied off the ball in the NFL (assuming you can beat his first step.) This more or less settles that. Gravity doesn’t matter much to Hercules. Just ask that headless hydra.
The only question is now is whether Young is yolked enough to put the entire Redskins organization on his back and drag all of their baggage back to relevancy. Dan Synder’s bloated corpse. A dilapidated stadium. A second-year franchise quarterback who’s already been fed to the wolves. The whole, entire racism thing. It’s a lot to carry, but when you can bench the freaking moon, it’ll feel like just another day in the gym.