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Chase Young (born April 14, 1999) is an American professional football defensive end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he was a unanimous All-American and Heisman Trophy finalist in 2019 after breaking the school's single-season quarterback sack record with 16.5.
Young was selected second overall by the Washington Redskins in the 2020 NFL draft and was named the Defensive Rookie of the Year. He suffered an ACL tear in 2021, leading to a lengthy recovery that forced him to also miss the majority of the 2022 season. Young was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 2023, recording a singular sack in Super Bowl LVIII before signing with the Saints the following season.
In 2015, Young transferred to DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, where he had 19 quarterback sacks and 27 tackles for loss that season to help the team win the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) championship. He was invited to The Opening in July 2016, a college football recruiting camp sponsored by Nike, where he was named MVP at his position. As a senior in 2016, he had 19 sacks, 118 tackles, five forced , and two defensive that helped the team go undefeated and win another WCAC championship.
By then, he was recognized as one of the best high school football players in the nation when he was included on the 2016 USA Today All-USA team and named all-metropolitan defensive football player of the year by The Washington Post. Young was also invited to the International Bowl and All-American Bowl, playing on the East team for the latter. Young also played for DeMatha's basketball team, playing alongside Markelle Fultz who was later selected first overall in the 2017 NBA draft. At the time, both he and Fultz had set goals to become the first overall selections in their respective sports.
Young was named one of the team captains as a junior in 2019. That year, he tied Ohio State school records for single-game sacks (4) and tackles for loss (5) in a win against Wisconsin. In November 2019, Young was suspended for two games by the NCAA for getting an unauthorized loan from a family friend to allegedly help his girlfriend attend the 2019 Rose Bowl, which he later repaid in full. In his first game after being reinstated, Young recorded three sacks against Penn State. He ended the season with 16.5 sacks, 46 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 7 forced fumbles, 3 pass deflections, and a blocked field goal. His 16.5 sacks broke the single-season school record previously held by Vernon Gholston, who had 14 in 2007.
In addition to being unanimously named to the 2019 College Football All-America Team, he won several other awards and honors that season including the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, Ted Hendricks Award, Chicago Tribune Silver Football, Nagurski–Woodson Defensive Player of the Year, and Smith–Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year. He was also named a finalist for the Walter Camp Award, Maxwell Award, and Heisman Trophy, becoming only the ninth defensive player since 1982 to be nominated for the latter, where he finished fourth in voting behind quarterbacks Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, and Justin Fields. Young was also voted the Big Ten Jesse Owens Athlete of the Year, which annually honors the Big Ten's top male athlete of any sport. He was the seventh football player to win it since its inception in 1982 and the first since Ron Dayne in 2000. Young finished his career at Ohio State with 30.5 sacks in three seasons, which ranks second all-time there behind Mike Vrabel, who had 36 in four. He was later named to the Big Ten Network's 2010s All-Decade Team as the only unanimous selection.
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Young was considered the favorite to win the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award during the lead-up to the season. In his debut, he had 1.5 sacks, four tackles, and a forced fumble in a win against the Philadelphia Eagles. He suffered a mild groin strain against the Cleveland Browns in Week 3 and missed the following game against the Baltimore Ravens. In a Week 14 game against the San Francisco 49ers, he recorded a sack, two passes defended, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery which he returned 47 yards for a touchdown, becoming the first rookie in NFL history and only the third player since 1999 to achieve all of that in a single game. Young finished the season with 7.5 sacks, which led all rookies, as well as four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
In December 2020, Young was named a team captain and was voted the NFC's Defensive Player of the Month, becoming the first rookie in Washington's history to receive that distinction. He was named Defensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press and Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), and was the only rookie included on PFWA's all-conference team. Young was also one of only two rookies named to the 2021 Pro Bowl alongside Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings. He was also nominated for the Best Breakthrough Athlete award at the 2021 ESPYs, which went to NBA player LaMelo Ball, and was ranked 61st on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2021 list.
On March 10, 2025, New Orleans re-signed Young to a three-year contract worth $51 million. After being injured in practice for Week 1 of the 2025 season, he continued to be sidelined with a calf injury for the first three games of the season.
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Young is represented by Klutch Sports Group, a sports agency founded by Rich Paul, and serves as their football ambassador for Klutch Athletics, a sportswear brand formed in partnership with New Balance in 2023. He has appeared in advertisements for Chipotle, Under Armour, and eBay, as well as on episodes of The Shop and Celebrity Family Feud. Young performed guest vocals on "Fire & Ice", a track from the American rapper Wale's 2021 album Folarin II. He was the honorary pace car driver for the 2022 Federated Auto Parts 400, a NASCAR Cup Series race held in Richmond, Virginia.
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