Washington Redskins coach Ron Rivera put Chase Young on a pedestal with some big names heading into the pass-rusher's rookie season.
During a recent Redskins' "Offseason Update Live," Rivera compared Young to a smaller Julius Peppers.
"He's not quite as big as Julius was," Rivera said, via the team's official website. "He's built like him; he's a mini version of him. He's got a little bit more of that initial explosion. Julius was very long and his explosion was good, but because of his length it seemed even better than it really, truly was. I mean Julius was phenomenal, and this is a young man who could be that type of player."
Peppers stands 6-foot-7 and authored a Hall of Fame-worthy career, including nine Pro Bowls, three first team All-Pros, the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2002, and was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team for both the 2000s and 2010s. Peppers sits fourth all-time in sacks with 159.5 before retiring following the 2018 season, which he spent with Rivera in Carolina.
Young, who stands 6-foot-5 himself, owns freaky athleticism and explosion off the ball made him a no-brainer pick at No. 2 overall for the Redskins. Peppers wasn't the only comparison Rivera made for the young pass-rusher.
"Von Miller comes to my mind when I watch Chase and I watch him work out and I watch the tape he's putting out," Rivera added, "so I'm pretty excited about seeing him."
Rivera noted that he expects Young to play around 55 to 65 percent of snaps as a rookie.
If Young comes close to performing as well as Miller and Peppers did in their rookie campaigns, the Redskins defensive front will be tough to deal with in 2020. Miller compiled 11.5 sacks as a rookie, while Peppers snagged 12 -- both won the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.
