Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio has had the pleasure of coaching future Hall-of-Fame players like Julius Peppers, Von Miller, and Khalil Mack in his career, so when he raves about the skills that the newest Redskin Chase Young has, you know he means it.
After taking the DC job in D.C., Del Rio knew that he would be inheriting a defensive front-seven that is extremely talented, fit with a defensive line that is littered with first-round draft picks. Now that the 2020 NFL Draft has come and gone, Del Rio is able to count his blessings once again, knowing that he gets to mold Young’s NFL career as well.
“The best toolbox I’ve ever seen coming out of the draft,” Del Rio said, via Redskins.com. “I haven’t seen a guy come out with that many tools. I’ve seen talented players come out, but not with a complete toolbox like he has.”
It’s also comforting for Redskins fans to see the synergy in this pick. While it would have been nice to draft a player of Young’s magnitude any year, the fact that he came to Washington in 2020, when the franchise is in the pivotal stages of a rebuild, is special. With a chance to start fresh, with Bruce Allen and the old regime gone, the Redskins added the best player in the draft, and they arguably have the best coach to oversee his early years. Not only has Del Rio coached great players, but he’s been able to oversee their early years in the NFL, and help them to reach new heights. He was part of the coaching staff who drafted Peppers in Carolina, and he took over in Denver when Miller was in his second season, as he did with Mack in Oakland. All three players had some of their highest single-season sack totals with Del Rio as either their defensive coordinator or head coach.
So will Young be a star in the league, like the rest of those players Del Rio has coached? Well, we can’t say for sure. But we know that he has every tool necessary to succeed.
