The San Francisco 49ers have landed a big fish before the NFL trade deadline that will make their defensive line even scarier.
Washington Commanders edge rusher Chase Young, their No. 2 overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, is heading to the Niners in exchange for a third-round pick, according to multiple reports.
The Commanders are clearly resetting – they unloaded Young’s counterpart, Montez Sweat, to the Chicago Bears earlier on Tuesday.
Washington got a second-round pick in exchange for Sweat, the team’s sack leader this season with 6.5. Young, who played one game less than Sweat, has five on the year.
Young’s addition to the 49ers’ defensive line will have their remaining opponents quivering because it is already a talented group that includes Nick Bosa – teammates with Young during their days at Ohio State – Arik Armstrong and Javon Hargrave. Adding linebacker Dre Greenlaw, Fred Warner and Oren Burks to the mix, and that’s arguably the best front seven in the entire NFL.
The 49ers, losers of three straight games, have been faltering a bit defensively over these past few weeks. Knowing the team still has high Super Bowl aspirations, GM Jon Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan made a move that greatly improves their chances to stop the top offenses in the league down the stretch.
Young is in the final year of his rookie deal, and after his fifth-year option wasn’t picked up by the Commanders, he’s set for free agency in 2024. If the 49ers don’t re-sign him, they could recoup the third-round pick given to Washington with a compensatory pick.
In fact, ESPN reports that the third-round pick sent to the Commanders is a compensatory pick that is coming from either the losses of Ran Carthon, the GM of the Tennessee Titans and DeMeco Ryans, the Houston Texans’ new head coach, or tackle Mike McGlinchey, who plays for the Denver Broncos now.
Why only a third-round pick was needed to land a player of Young’s caliber could come from his injury history, which includes a season-ending ACL tear in November 2021. It took quite a while for Young to recover from his injury as he played just three games in 2022.
Young seems to be back to form this season, though, totaling six tackles for loss over seven games to go along with his 5.0 sacks.
Reuniting with Bosa will be a sight to see for 49ers fans as this duo wreaked havoc on offensive lines during their time with the Buckeyes. Bosa and Young were teammates in 2017 and 2018, totaling a combined 27.5 sacks over that span.
It will be interesting to see how defensive coordinator Steve Wilks deploys his defensive line after the 49ers also added Clelin Ferrell and Randy Gregory for this season. Drake Jackson has also been stellar with three sacks on the year.
One thing is for sure: The 49ers are not short of depth at one of the most important positions on the field, and getting Young is a luxury that could pay dividends moving forward.
The 49ers are heading into their bye week, too, which gives Young time to learn his new teammates and defensive scheme before putting it to the test against a red-hot Jacksonville Jaguars team on Nov. 12.
