Joe Burrow vs. Chase Young is another battle of top-two picks of a draft class.
There was once a time where Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Washington Football Team defensive end Chase Young took the field as teammates for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Ultimately, Burrow eventually left Columbus as he transferred to start at LSU and led the Tigers to a National Championship.
Young, on the other hand, came within a game of playing for college football’s biggest prize as the Buckeyes fell to Trevor Lawrence and Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinals. The two, however, were reunited at the Heisman Trophy ceremony when Burrow wound up winning the prestigious award. Then they both headed for the NFL.
On Sunday in Week 11, Burrow and Young will face off against each other for the first time since they were taken No. 1 and 2, respectively, with the hopes of reversing their fortunes.
Burrow and the Bengals are currently 2-6-1 while Young is 2-7 in Washington. Young has 3.5 sacks while Burrow has 2,485 yards and 12 touchdowns with five picks.
No. 1 vs. No. 2 battles aren’t exclusive to Joe Burrow and Chase Young.
Likely, neither of these teams will be advancing to the postseason this year. However, this isn’t the first time in history that the No. 1 and 2 overall picks in the same draft class have met in competition, particularly with a quarterback facing a pass rusher.
As football fans will recall in Super Bowl 50, former No. 1 overall pick Cam Newton faced off against No. 2 pick Von Miller, with the latter winning the Lombardi Trophy and Super Bowl MVP as well.
In 1971, the roles were flipped as the then-Houston Oilers selected defensive end John Matuszak before the Baltimore Colts selected Pro-Bowl quarterback Bert Jones, who faced off on a number of occasions. The process has repeated roughly a half-dozen times, most recently with the Cardinals choosing Kyler Murray before the 49ers took Nick Bosa in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Whether or not Burrow vs Young will turn out to be a memorable battle between the top two picks remains to be seen. What their careers will eventually turn out like, though, bears watching. When they meet for the first time since they were teammates in Columbus, the matchup will be intriguing given their draft pedigree and obvious ties that bind.