Washington football’s Adams deserves to be a first rounder
Washington football has sent a lot of excellent prospects to the NFL, and the giant tackle is just the next in a long line of Pro Dawgs
Chase Young is an excellent edge rusher from Ohio State University, and he has blown up this season with his 13.5 sacks, incredible athleticism, and arsenal of pass rush moves has gotten Heisman love on Twitter, and potential first overall pick love from NFL draft scouts galore.
Where was that not seen? In the Rose Bowl. Now some of this had to do with scheme, but for Adams, who was playing in only his fourth game of the season, was able to neutralize the super prospect for a good majority of his time on the field. Remember, Adams didn’t play the entire Rose Bowl, and Young, who finished bowl season has the highest-graded edge defender, per Pro Football Focus, so to actually gauge the impact of Adams vs. Young, you’ll have to put on the tape.
Young finished the game with two tackles including his one sack, and one of them came as he dropped into coverage and tackled Salvon Ahmed when he grabbed a check down. The sack was an excellent play where he beats Adams off the line, gets his hands on him early, and is able to track Jake Browning down from behind.
Right off the bat, Adams still didn’t look completely up to speed in just his fourth game of the year, and Young, who has incredible speed off the edge beats him once or twice but wasn’t able to hit home.
Film Room
This is a great play by Adams to show off his intelligence as Young tries to come on a stunt to the inside, but Adams sniffs it out and stands him up immediately.
Watch the Huskies sell the pass on a draw play and once again, Adams stands up Young and takes him completely out of the play.
Two plays after the sack, look at Adams show off his incredible strength, and stand Young up with just one arm, giving Browning all kinds of time to throw.
Measurables
At 6’8, 314 pounds, Adams has prototypical size for an NFL left tackle, and with what shows on tape in both the pass and run game, he’s everything a team like the Cleveland Browns, who are in desperate need for a left tackle, want in a prospect.
Sure there are questions around his health, and we might see those arise again come NFL Combine time, but they shouldn’t knock him out of the first round. Adams deserves to go on day one of the NFL Draft, and will make any team who decides to take a chance on him very happy.