Chase Young is entering a pivotal season in his career with the New Orleans Saints. He signed a one-year deal with them this offseason, and his sky-high ceiling earned him the third spot on our list of the five best additions of the offseason.
Deciding between Young and linebacker Willie Gay Jr. was the most difficult part of this exercise. Ultimately, Young got the nod over Gay because of his ability to transform the Saints defense. The Saints defensive line has struggled to rush the passer in the past two seasons despite continuously investing at defensive end in the draft.
New Orleans changed their route and dipped into the free agency pool this year. He is a former Defensive Rookie of the Year who was projected to be a sack machine. He never quite reached that expectation, but showing flashes of being productive rusher. He matched his career-high 7.5 sacks last season, but his total was front loaded at the beginning of the season.
If Young can remain productive all season, he has the ability to hit double-digit sacks. The last Saints player to do that was Cameron Jordan in 2021.
The Saints lean towards big, physical defensive ends who don’t usually get to the quarterback quickly. Young breaks that mold and adds a quickness to the trenches. His speed transforms the defense by giving the team an ability to rush four down lineman more often and more effectively. This allows you to deploy more men in coverage on pass play.
He’s in a prove-it year, so it can go either way for Young. We’ll lean towards the positive projection for the sake of the list. At his best, Young has the potential to give New Orleans an impact player on each level of the defense with other new pickups helping out at the second level and on the back end.
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