While the 2018 NBA Draft Class is quite deep, to rank Young so low seems to be a slight on the Atlanta Hawks point guard of the future.
Young’s defense is certainly going to be a problem for much of the year (and possibly much of his career), but winning Rookie of the Year is rarely reliant on defensive acumen.
Trae has one of the highest offensive ceilings in this draft class – rivaled only by his trade mate Luka Doncic, who was picked as the clear-cut favorite by ESPN to win the award in 2018-19.