For a season-and-a-half, Nick Bosa and Chase Young formed arguably the best pass-rushing duo in the NCAA at Ohio State.
Five years later, the tandem are reunited in San Francisco after the 49ers traded a 2024 third-round pick to the Washington Commanders for Young hours before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline.
“If we think there is a chance to improve us, we’ll do it,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Monday, via ESPN.
After trading for running back Christian McCaffrey last October, 49ers GM John Lynch has now added former top-10 picks at the trade deadline in consecutive years without surrendering a first-round pick.
Making Lynch’s savvy dealing all the more impressive is the fact that the 49ers would likely get back a compensatory third-round draft pick should Young, who’s in the final year of his four-year, $34.5 million contract, leave via free agency at the end of the year, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Across two seasons with the Buckeyes, Young and Bosa combined for 174 pressures, 115 hurries, 41.5 tackles for loss, 30 QB hits, 26.5 sacks, seven passes defensed and four forced fumbles, per Pro Football Focus.
The 24-year-old Young has five sacks through seven games, and he led the Commanders in pressures (38), hurries (27) and pass-rushing win rate (18.4%). Putting him opposite Bosa, who has 44 pressures, 25 hurries, 15 QB hits and three sacks in his own right, gives the 49ers arguably the top 1-2 punch at edge-rusher in the NFL.
Young’s addition also bolsters a 49ers pass rush that’s come under fire recently for its failure to turn pressures into sacks.
San Francisco leads the NFL with 178 pressures but is tied for 18th in sacks with 12 of 18 coming from its starting defensive line — Bosa, Drake Jackson, Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead. The rest of the 49ers front seven (Clelin Ferrell, Kerry Hyder Jr., Randy Gregory, Javon Kinlaw) has failed to contribute, however, prompting Lynch to add a high-profile pass-rusher for the stretch run.
The New Orleans Saints are the only other team in the NFL that has two pass-rushers with 30 or more pressures and 15 or more hurries (Cameron Jordan, Carl Granderson), per PFF.
