5 low-risk, high-reward free agents Cleveland Browns can target

1. Chase Young, Defensive End

When Chase Young entered the NFL in 2020, he was seen as a potential franchise cornerstone. The No. 2 overall pick out of Ohio State won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award for the Washington Football Team after recording 44 tackles and 7.5 sacks. Since then, however, he's been struggling to make a similar impact.

Young managed to play just 12 games over the next two seasons and had 1.5 sacks in that span. He was finally able to stay healthy in 2023 but Washington had already made the decision to skip on his fifth-year option. They then decided to move on completely, trading him to the San Francisco 49ers at the deadline.

Having him re-join Nick Bosa on a defensive line that also has Arik Armstead and added Randy Gregory seemed to be unfair. That hasn't been the case, however.

Young played in nine games for San Francisco this season had had just 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks — after recording 15 tackles and 5.0 sacks for Washington in seven games. Making matters worse, he was seen not giving full effort in their win over Detroit during the playoffs which will likely lead to some serious questions as he hits the open market.

Couple that image with his durability concerns and Young isn't likely to strike a long-term deal this offseason. That could be good for someone such as the Browns who might be able to get him into town on a one-year, "prove-it" deal. Worst case scenario, they continue to roll with Alex Wright across from Myles Garrett ‚ and Wright has been taking off as of late. But there's a potential for quite the award as well should they get a motivated Young on their defensive line.

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