NFL Free Agency Profile: DE Chase Young

The Browns are back to searching for someone to pair with Myles Garrett and if the price is right then Chase Young may be that player.

The Cleveland Browns have been searching for a reliable defensive end to pair with Myles Garrett since the day he was drafted in 2017.

The list has included Emmanuel Ogbah, Carl Nassib, Olivier Vernon, Chad Thomas, Joe Jackson, Jadeveon Clowney, Za’Darius Smith, and several other players whose names will not necessarily go down in franchise lore.

The cycle continues this year as Smith, who may have been the best of the bunch, is an unrestricted free agent after just one season with the Browns. Smith is still productive, but he will turn 32 just as the 2024 season gets underway, and general manager Andrew Berry may be a bit wary about how much it would cost to keep a player on the other side of 30, even one as durable as Smith has been the past few years.

So it might be back to free agency to find a new partner for Garrett, and depending on how it shakes out, that player might be former Defensive Rookie of the Year Chase Young.

Name/Position

Chase Young, Defensive end

Height/Weight

6-foot-5, 264 pounds

2023 Teams

Washington Commanders

San Francisco 49ers

Stats

2023: 16 games, 25 tackles, 15 quarterback hits, 7.5 sacks,

Career: 43 games, 100 tackles, 32 quarterback hits, 16.5 sacks

PFF Grade

2023: 74.4 overall (34th out of 112 defensive ends), 60.8 run defense, 75.8 pass rush

3-year average grade: 76 (overall), 73.1 run defense, 71.2 pass rush

2023 Contract

$1.01 million base salary, $561,111 million cap number, per Over the Cap

Fit with the Browns

Chase Young had a rough go of it in 2021 and 2022 as injuries limited him to just 12 games over those two seasons. But he bounced back nicely in 2023 while splitting time between the Washington Commanders and the San Francisco 49ers.

While his run defense is problematic at times, Young showed he can still be productive when it comes to getting after the quarterback, as PFF highlights:

Finally healthy in 2023 after spending the better part of two seasons recovering from a torn ACL, Young exploded early in the year and finished among the top edge defenders in pass-rush win rate on the season. A strong run defender as a rookie, Young does lose contain at times and occasionally gets guided upfield beyond the play, but a half-season of working with defensive line coach Kris Kocurek in San Francisco is the best free agency preparation around.

Some of the success he found with the 49ers could simply be a continuation of his return to form, but there is no doubt he benefitted from playing opposite Nick Bosa on the defensive line, and in Cleveland, the situation would be even better with Myles Garrett garnering so much attention from opposing offenses.

Browns player signing could impact

The player on the bubble at the position is Za’Darius Smith, who is a free agent after just one season in Cleveland. Smith was productive with an overall grade of 83.1 and a pass-rush grade of 87.4, the fourth time in the past five seasons that he has exceeded a grade of 84.

Cleveland could simply sign Smith to another contract, but he is on the other side of 30 and will be looking for a bigger payday in what could be his last contract. Staying with what worked last year is not always a bad idea, but age is not in Smith’s favor and he might be looking for more than the Browns are willing to offer.

If Young is willing to accept a one-year offer to prove himself in the hopes of a big payday next year, then the Browns should be interested.

How signing could impact the NFL Draft

Both the defensive and offensive lines are areas that the Browns should continue to add players to each year in the draft, so no matter what they do in free agency – either sign Smith to another deal or sign an outside player – they will likely select a defensive lineman at some point in the upcoming draft.

Priority

Upper Medium: The Browns have to pair someone with Garrett. Ogbo Okoronkwo is good as part of the rotation and the club likes the potential of Alex Wright, but if the club is serious about dealing with the slate of quarterbacks on the schedule this fall, they need to have more than what is currently on the roster.

Projected Contract

One year at $15 million, fully guaranteed, per PFF

What would you like to see the Browns do at defensive end this offseason? Join your fellow Browns fans in the comment section below to have your say.