49ers Fans Meet Your New Pass Rusher
San Francisco turns to the trade market to juice up their team once again. What will Chase Young bring to improve a scuffling defense?
The San Francisco 49ers are no strangers to splashy tradeline acquisitions in the John Lynch - Kyle Shanahan era and 2023 is no different. To help a struggling defense that has allowed 395 YPG and ranks 17th overall over the past month, they brought in former #2 pick Chase Young from the Washington Commanders. Young, a former Ohio State standout, has had a strong 2023 after returning in Week 2 from an ACL tear he sustained back in November of 2021. Young brings top end athleticism and pedigree to a Niners defense that lacks much juice opposite reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Nick Bosa. Young’s 38 Pressures rank 10th in the NFL through 8 weeks, he also ranks 16th in Sacks (6), and 19th in Win Rate (27.3%). The 49ers brought him in specifically to help bolster their pass rush so let’s see how the tape* compares to his numbers.
*Games Watched: Week 3 vs BUF, Week 4 @ PHI, Week 5 vs CHI, Week 6 @ ATL, Week 7 @NYG*
Speed Rush Profile
Despite coming off a serious knee injury Chase Young is still an excellent speed rusher. He blends a quick first step with very good upfield burst and good play speed. At 6’ 5” 264 he shows exceptional fluidity and an strong ability to turn the corner for a player of his size. In this clip against the Eagles talented LT Jordan Mailata he is able to win the corner with a speed rush and two hand swipe. Young also displays good contact balance and finishing ability to corral a difficult tackle in QB Jalen Hurts.
Right now Young’s pass rush wins mostly come via his superior athleticism. While he does show an adequate pass rush plan consisting of the club rip, two hand swipe and swim move most of his pressures come from winning with his speed and power. In this clip against the Bears you can see how even when his hand placement and strike timing isn’t the best he can use his physical tools to play through the shoulder of an offensive tackle and get pressure.
Young has the benefit of being physically superior to most offensive lineman he faces but when he is matched with a tackle that can match him, his inconsistent pass rush plan becomes more of an issue. You tend to see this more when he tries to win with power.
Power Rush Profile
Chase Young possesses solid play strength for an EDGE rusher but it’s not exceptional. Most of his power rush impact comes when he is able to convert speed to power and attack the half shoulder of a tackle (as seen in the clip above). If he does not create first contact with his initial strike, his power rushes usually get stymied. In this clip you can see how when he cannot win with his initial move he lacks the counters to beat an offensive tackle,.
Larry Borom, the Bears Left Tackle in this Week 5 matchup, is a player we already know Young is physically superior to from the previous clip, but poor technique and a lack of pass rush polish allows the overmatched tackle to anchor down and stop his rush because he does not fear a counter move.
The good news for Young and the 49ers? If you need to clean up your hands and pass rush plan there’s no better place than opposite Nick Bosa in the Coach Kocurek rehabilitation program. The hope is a couple weeks in the 49ers system will help improve his hand work and pad level as a pass rusher.
Run Defense & Effort Concerns
Speaking of pad level concerns, it's a big issue in the area of the field where Chase Young struggles the most, which is run defense. Prior to his injury Young was an above average run defender and with his length and athletic ability he still has that in him, but currently it’s a work in progress.
Like most high end pass rusher Young is very aggressive and likes to attack upfield but he often runs himself out of plays as a result. The Bills and Eagles were able to kick him out on multiple occasions with pulling guards. He did not show the aggressiveness or ability to take on the blocks, instead often option to try and turn the corner on them like a pass rusher which opens up an easy lane for the ball carrier.
Young also displays issues diagnosing the run. He often pops straight up and looks into the backfield, which allows blockers to get under his pads and out leverage him. In this clip you can see the Bills TE (#85) is easily able to reach Young and he does not show the ability to shed the block nor the effort to chase down the ball carrier.
Effort is also a big question mark for Young on his 2023 tape, especially in run defense. He takes far too many plays off on the backside of run plays. There are a multitude of times where a ball carrier is level or past him and he simply takes his foot off the gas. It has gotten better with each week so it may be more of a conditioning thing but will still be something to monitor, because it certainly doesn’t show up on his pass rush reps. Check out this clip of him cutting off a Justin Fields scramble, then sifting through traffic to not let one of the most elusive running QBs in the NFL get away.
Extra Points
A couple more notes from Young’s 2023 tape I want to touch on. Young played exclusively over the LT in Washington, I didn’t see him take a single snap to the offense's right side. I’m curious to see how that changes in SF for a defense that moves around its defensive line and if they ask him to rush from his non-preferred side at all.
The second note is more statistical than anything. Of Young’s 38 pressures, 18 came in 2 games versus the Bears and Broncos, two teams with questionable offensive lines. We already talked about how Young wins primarily with his physical tools so it’s not shocking for his pressures to be allocated in such a manner where he dominated his weaker matchups. His tape versus Buffalo and Philly shows he can beat high level LT’s but it is another point to monitor for him.
What to Expect?
The 49ers will likely use Young as a rotational EDGE rusher to start as he becomes more comfortable in their system. He should line up outside the tackle, mostly over the Left Tackle, as a 5T or wider. He will succeed best when asked to rush the passer with speed where he can leverage his athletic ability and upfield burst. The run defense will come along a little slower but if the coaching staff can get his effort and technique dialed in he has the physical tools to be a plus player in that aspect.