Chase Young Talks Respect, 2021 WFT Season, USAA and More in B/R Interview

Aaron Donald. Khalil Mack. J.J. Watt. 

All the NFL's great pass-rushers had moments early in their careers when opposing offenses started game-planning around trying to stop them from getting to the quarterback with double-teams and chip blocks.

Now it's Chase Young's turn.

"They're going to come," the Washington Football Team defensive end told Bleacher Report. "It comes with the territory. All the best went through it, Khalil Mack, AD [Aaron Donald], all the best got it. I feel like it's a respect thing, and it's a challenge that I'm up for."

Young earned that respect last season as the Defensive Rookie of the Year who tallied 44 tackles, 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, four passes defended and three fumble recoveries, one of which he returned for a touchdown in a win over the San Francisco 49ers.

All that extra attention has made a difference through three games this year, though, as the Ohio State product is yet to tally a sack during his team's 1-2 start. He knows he has to adjust to the opposition's strategy.

"You definitely have to approach the game differently when you're getting chipped," he said. "You have to change your eyes to certain things that you're looking at and you're paying attention to."

While he is making the necessary adjustments, things haven't quite gone as planned for Young and the Football Team given the elevated expectations that were in place. Not only did Washington have the Pro Bowler and Defensive Rookie of the Year leading the way for the defense, but it was coming off an NFC East crown and added Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback and Curtis Samuel at wide receiver.

Suddenly, the team that lost by just eight points in a competitive playoff game against the eventual champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers looked like a true threat in the NFC.

Instead, the Football Team is 1-2, Fitzpatrick is on injured reserve with a hip injury he suffered in the season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers and Samuel is yet to play because of a groin injury.

"It's only Week 3," Young said while expressing optimism that better things are in store. "We've got a lot of football left. I feel like we're going to turn it around, and when we do it's going to be all good."

The defense has also struggled and allowed 43 points in a Week 3 loss to the Buffalo Bills while Josh Allen accounted for 358 passing yards and five total touchdowns. Even in its one win, Washington gave up 29 points to an 0-3 New York Giants team that combined for 27 points in its other two games.

"We've just got to get all locked in together and play together as a team," Young said. "I feel like when we do that, we'll get it right."

He is trying to get it right not only for the team but his hometown.

After all, Young grew up close to Washington, D.C., and recently teamed up with USAA and joined ESPN's Gary Striewski to give fans a closer look at his "home base" near the nation's capital.

"I feel like I'm living the dream," Young told Bleacher Report when discussing what it is like to become an NFL star so close to home. "I'm just blessed. It's a great opportunity, something I'm definitely not trying to waste. I'm blessed to be in my hometown with mom and dad coming to my games right down the road. I'm almost at a loss for words because it's just a big blessing."

Teaming up with USAA was a natural choice since his grandfather, Carl H. Robinson, served in the military. Young has a tattoo that memorializes his grandfather, who died in 2012.

"The military and how it shaped my grandfather really just made him, him," Young said. "The things I got from him and just how he carried himself. Being clean, being fresh, things like that. I feel like that fell down to me. Just being a man and being accountable and taking care of your business. He was also a handyman who could fix doors, floors, he could do it all. I just feel like it was the military and how they crafted and shaped him to become a man. I was blessed because I got some of those things as well."

Young has used those traits to become a leader on the field and will look to help Washington put its slow start in the rearview mirror.

Terrance Williams/Associated Press

A return to the playoffs is still well within reach considering the Football Team plays in an NFC East they won with a 7-9 record last year. The 2-1 Dallas Cowboys are the only team in the division with a winning record to this point, so Washington probably doesn't have to go 12-5 in the new 17-game campaign to reach the postseason.

It also has a quirky schedule since the final five games are all divisional showdowns against the Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and Giants.

"We're working; we're grinding," Young said. "And we're not going to take our foot off the pedal under any circumstances. No matter what anybody has to say about us, we're going to keep rocking."

It is far more important that Young and the Football Team are "rocking" at the end of the season than now when another NFC East crown will be on the line.