Ohio State defensive end Chase Young is the top player in the 2020 NFL Draft in Field Level Media’s Top 250 rankings.
But Young has been contacted by only three teams two weeks before the draft begins.
NFL Network reported Wednesday the Cincinnati Bengals (No. 1 pick) and the two teams immediately behind them in the draft order — the Washington Redskins and Detroit Lions — have contacted Young.
But Young seems to have a feel for his worth.
“I feel like I’m the best player in the country,” Young told Field Level Media before he was recognized as the top defensive player in college football last season at the Maxwell Football Club. “I think I was the best player at the Combine. I feel like I’m the best, that my name should be up there, and that’s not off of being cocky, that’s off of being real confident. To be in this game, if you don’t have that mentality, you shouldn’t be playing it.”
Part of the silence from NFL teams could be the lack of a pro day for Young, who was permitted to meet informally with every team at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. He also conducted more than a dozen formal interviews over four days.
But since prospects went their separate ways leaving Indiana in March, nothing has been typical in the pre-draft buildup.
Few workouts were held on campus, as pro days were all but erased by the coronavirus pandemic shutting down sports and the rest of the world.
Young was planning on doing only positional workouts at his pro day in Columbus (scheduled for March 25), he told Field Level Media last month.
Another element at play could be the perception around the NFL that Young is going to be drafted in the top two. Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn joked that Young doesn’t even need a pro day, as his body of work is more than evident in his three years and 30.5 sacks at Ohio State, including 16.5 sacks last season.
