Redskins' Ron Rivera explains why rookie Chase Young is 'a mini version' of Julius Peppers

Rivera has high expectations for Young heading into his rookie campaign

The Washington Redskins made the wise move keeping the No. 2 overall pick and selecting Chase Young, creating one of the best defensive lines in football. Young is one of the most talented pass rushers to enter the NFL in years, joining Joey Bosa and Nick Bosa in garnering the preseason hype heading into their rookie seasons (both Bosa brothers also went to Ohio State, like Young). 

Redskins head coach Ron Rivera has coached his fair share of Pro Bowl pass rushers, from Hugh Douglas to Adewale Ogunleye to Shawne Merriman. Young has the potential to exceed all of them, as Rivera envisions Young having the same success as future Hall of Fame pass rusher Julius Peppers. 

"He's not quite as big as Julius was," Rivera said, via the Redskins 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 was dominant in his 17 NFL seasons, recording 159.5 sacks and 186 quarterback hits (which became an official stat in 2006). The former Defensive Rookie of the Year made nine Pro Bowls and was a three-time first-team All-Pro. He finished with 10 double-digit sack seasons and currently sits fourth on the all-time sacks list. 

Just like Young, Peppers was the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft, back in 2002. 

Young led the nation in sacks last year on his way to earning the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation's top defensive player and the Bronko Nagurski Award as the nation's top defensive end, the first Ohio State defensive player to earn those honors. He was just the ninth defensive player to be a Heisman Trophy finalist. 

Young has an opportunity to make an instant impact on a defensive line that already features Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Matt Ioannidis, and Montez Sweat. Four-time Pro Bowler Ryan Kerrigan has also made a major impact on the Redskins defensive line in the past, making Washington's defensive line one of the best in the league. 

While Rivera feels Young is a mini-version of Peppers, he also sees a bit of Von Miller in him. 

"(Von) comes to my mind when I watch Chase and I watch him work out and I watch the tape he's putting out," Rivera said. "So I'm pretty excited about seeing him."