Brandon Scherff, Chase Young named to NFL Top 100 list originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
In 2020, not one player from the Washington Football Team was named to the NFL Top 100 list.
One year later, that’s no longer the case.
NFL Network announced players No. 100 through No. 41 on Sunday evening and two members of the Burgundy and Gold were ranked in that range. All-Pro guard Brandon Scherff came in at No. 98 while reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Chase Young landed at No. 61.
For both players, especially Scherff, you could advocate for them to be even higher.
Scherff turned in the best season of his career in 2020. He played in 13 games and made the fourth Pro Bowl of his career. He was also recognized on the national stage, as he was named to the AP’s first-team All-Pro squad, the first time a Washington player received such an honor in over two decades.
What Scherff has going against him, though, is that he plays arguably the least glamorous position in the NFL. Of the 60 players that were ranked on Sunday evening, only one other guard, Dallas’ Zack Martin, was named. It’s just simply not a position that receives the recognition it deserves.
Still, in the video that NFL Network produced for Scherff, the 28-year-old was praised by several stars around the league: Young, George Kittle, Brandon Graham, and Trai Turner, among others
“If you want to be a guard, look up to him,” Kittle said. “He never misses a block.”
“He’s got everything an offensive lineman could want,” Turner added.
For Young, coming in at No. 61 after just one season is a tremendous accomplishment. It also shows just how quickly he was able to grab the attention of the NFL during his rookie season.
The No. 2 overall pick in 2020 finished his rookie year with just 7.5 sacks but ended the season playing as good of football as any defensive player in the league. Young was not only named NFL Rookie of the Month for December but also earned the NFL Defensive Player of the Month award that same month.
Like Scherff, Young earned compliments from several stars around the league. Graham, Terry McLaurin, Robby Anderson and Andrew Whitworth all raved about the Washington pass rusher.
“You look at an Aaron Donald, you look at a Khalil Mack, in the situations of games where they’re just needed to make a play, they go do something special,” Whitworth said. “I think he’s got the ability and the talent that he’ll be a guy like that very soon.”
But perhaps the biggest compliment came from former Washington tackle Trent Williams, who himself returned to the NFL Top 100 list after a stellar season in San Francisco.
“He’s one of those transcendent talents that comes around every blue moon,” Williams said. “He’s a Hall of Fame player just unfolding before our eyes.”
With Young and Scherff both already on the list, it’s hard to imagine any other Washington player has yet to be revealed. There’s a significant case to be made for McLaurin to be among the 40 players that have yet to be named, but it seems likely that he’ll have to wait until next year to make his NFL Top 100 debut.
