Tag: stay or go

Saints free agent preview: OL Oli Udoh, stay or go?

Previewing free agency for the New Orleans Saints: Should they retain left guard Oli Udoh, or let him walk in the 2025 offseason?

The New Orleans Saints offseason is nearly upon us, as the Super Bowl grows ever nearer and the time for free agent signings follows shortly after. The Saints are in a tough position with the salary cap once again, and have lots of decisions to make when it comes to the roster and unrestricted free agents, as they have 19 in the upcoming free agent class.

One such player is depth offensive lineman Olisaemeka Udoh, who ended up playing at multiple points for the Saints this season including a start as well. He was strong in his performances at times, and may make for an intriguing decision this offseason.

With that said here is his career stats so far, as well as some pertinent information regarding this season:

Career Stats

Over the course of his six year career, Oli Udoh has had 1,492 pass blocking snaps, and in that span has given up 3 sacks, 56 pressures, and has had 22 penalties, accruing a 96.6% pass blocking efficiency rate. While this is not among the elite of the elite at his position, it is a solid rating, and ultimately is indicative of solid play from someone who has been a spot starter most of his career so far.

Snap Counts

Here are the offensive snap breakdowns for each of his seasons so far, only including games he played in:

  • 2019: 63% (31 snaps, 1 game played)
  • 2020: 1% (4)
  • 2021: 94% (1076)
  • 2022: 11% (131)
  • 2023: 37% (45 snaps, 2 games played)
  • 2024: 16% (149)

2024 season review

2024 was another one of the spot starting seasons for Oli Udoh, as he was active for 14 games, and played in nine, including one start at left guard against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 17. In 2024 he gave up only 1 sack, 5 pressures, and had 3 penalties in his 149 snaps. This was not perfect, and worthy of a 96.1% pass block efficiency rate, but he was solid when he was asked to come in. He was exactly what you would ask for from a depth guard, and nothing more. He lined up at left tackle for 11 reps, right guard on 7 snaps, and right tackle 6 times.

Stay or go?

Ultimately offensive line depth is very hit or miss, you get good seasons and bad seasons, and this was a solid season for Udoh in very limited playing time. The Saints likely do not have much of an opportunity to offer to Udoh beyond this season with the offensive line mostly solidified, and he may find a better offer elsewhere to be a rotational guard or depth piece. If the Saints can get him back on a cheap deal to be a backup guard that is completely fine, but he will likely be offered a deal elsewhere that can offer slightly more playing time. He followed his former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to the Saints and could do so again in going to the Seattle Seahawks.

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Saints free agent preview: LB Willie Gay Jr, stay or go?

Previewing free agency for the New Orleans Saints: Should they retain linebacker Willie Gay Jr., or let him walk in the 2025 offseason?

The New Orleans Saints are nearing the offseason as the Super Bowl is the only playoff game left to be played and a head coach search reaching its end. With that behind them they will have the chance to work on signing free agents where possible, fixing the cap even further, and trying to retain some of their key contributors. With 19 unrestricted free agents this offseason, they have some decisions to make on who to keep and who to let walk this year, especially if they want to start pursuing other players instead.

We have the chance to talk about one such pending free agent: linebacker Willie Gay Jr. He was a 2024 offseason signing the Saints brought in on a one-year deal to compete with Pete Werner for the starting linebacker spot next to Demario Davis. Ultimately Werner won out and took many of the snaps available.

With that in mind, here is how Gay’s career has gone so far, and some of the pertinent information regarding his season:

Career Stats

Overall Gay has been a strong producer on defense for a few years, with 2022 likely being his best season of the bunch. In that season he had 88 total tackles (51 solo, 37 assisted), a pick-six on a 47 yard return, 8 pass deflections, 9 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery. 2023 he saw decreases in most categories which led to the Kansas City Chiefs letting him walk in free agency, and the Saints picking him up.

In his four seasons with the Chiefs he had 47 starts (in 57 games played), with 233 total tackles, 4 interceptions for 85 yards and 1 touchdown, 19 pass deflections, 17 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, and 5 sacks.

Snap Counts

Here is Gay’s defensive snap count for each season of his career, only including games he played in:

  • 2020: 25% (267)
  • 2021: 57% (437)
  • 2022: 69% (608)
  • 2023: 62% (624)
  • 2024: 27% (277)

2024 season review

As you can see, there was a significant drop-off from his Chiefs days to his Saints days in terms of snaps on defense, and that is largely because the Saints did not really use a third linebacker often the last few seasons. This led to a less than productive season for Gay who had 28 tackles, 3 pass deflections, 1 forced fumble with 2 fumble recoveries, 2 sacks and 2 tackles for loss. Overall he just did not get the utilization some thought he may, and that is largely because Pete Werner took the second linebacker role for his own and produced there.

Stay or go?

Overall it is hard to envision a role for Gay with Demario Davis and Pete Werner on the roster. While it would be nice to have him as a depth third option for more than one season, it is hard to ask that of a 27-year-old entering the prime of his athletic career who will want more playing time. Keeping him around would be a great option no doubt, but the Saints need to make up as much cap space as they can, and Gay may be better suited elsewhere where he can see more playing time. It makes sense to let him walk and find a greater opportunity for himself.

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Saints free agent preview: FB Adam Prentice, stay or go?

Previewing free agency for the New Orleans Saints: Should they retain fullback Adam Prentice, or let him walk in the 2025 offseason?

The New Orleans Saints are in somewhat of an intriguing position this offseason, with their head coach and offensive coordinator positions in flux they have some work to do coaching wise. But on top of that, they also have quite a few free agents to discuss and figure out whether or not they want to retain them or let them walk.

One of those free agents is fullback Adam Prentice, who has played in 48 games with the Saints since 2021. While his rushing value is not particularly high, his blocking value is something worth noting for the Saints and their new coaching staff.

With that said, here is his career in a nutshell so far, and some key statistics of his:

Career Stats

Prentice has never much been used in the run game, only having 9 rush attempts for 26 yards (2.9 yards per rush) and 6 first downs. He also has 8 receptions on 13 targets for 37 yards (4.6 yards per reception) and 2 first downs. He also has two offensive fumbles in that span, though none came in 2024.

He does get quite a bit of playing time with the special teams room, having 16 tackles in his career, 10 of which being solo and 6 being assisted. When it comes to pass blocking, he has had 67 opportunities in pass blocking, and has only allowed 1 sack and 1 pressure, good for a 98.5% blocking efficiency rate. This translates to run blocking as well, as he often lines up staggered to one side and covers the gaps for the running back. Overall he provides good value in this category, and this is why he has been on the team for four seasons.

Snap Counts

Here are the offensive and special teams snap counts for each season of Prentice’s career, only including games he played in:

2021: Offense 24% (106), Special teams 49% (94)

2022: Offense 18% (120), Special teams 46% (126)

2023: Offense 15% (125), Special teams 39% (137)

2024: Offense 25% (272), Special teams 48% (218)

2024 season review

2024 was one of the better years of Prentice’s career to this point, getting substantial snap counts both on offense and special teams, playing in all 17 games and even starting seven of them (more than the other 3 seasons of his career combined for starts). While he did not have any receptions on four attempts, and did not have any rush attempts, it was a very strong blocking season for him, with only 1 sack and 1 pressure allowed on 29 pass blocking opportunities (96.6% block efficiency rate). Additionally he had no penalties during the season, which is a positive for someone on special teams and in the blocking game.

Stay or go?

To be completely honest the fullback position is one that is either utilized a ton or not at all, and that depends on the head coach. While the Saints head coach position is not resolved as of the writing of this article, having a quality blocker is a good thing one way or another. Prentice has experience with this offense, has produced at a good level in the blocking game, and likely has a few good years of doing so ahead of him. While he is not a huge needle moving signing, keeping him around on a one- or two-year deal to do his job effectively is a good idea for New Orleans.

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Saints free agent preview: DE Payton Turner, stay or go?

Previewing free agency for the New Orleans Saints: Should they retain defensive end Payton Turner, or let him walk in the 2025 offseason?

The New Orleans Saints have some decisions to make this offseason, with a litany of free agents hitting the market (both their own and others), they will have to use their money sparingly to try and accrue new talent. Deciding who stays and who goes is a difficult process, as players like Trey Hendrickson get away sometimes due to cap space.

One of the players set to become a free agent this offseason is defensive end Payton Turner, who had his fifth-year option declined by the Saints last offseason. The 2021 first round pick has unfortunately not lived up to his potential, and that makes the decision regarding his contract easier than some others.

With that said, here is his career summary so far:

Career Stats

Payton Turner has had an exceptionally slow start to his career to date, as in four seasons he has only played in 31 games, starting none, and accrued 50 total tackles (30 solo, 20 assisted), 39 pressures, 11 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 4 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. These stats are something you would expect in one season from a first round pick, not over their entire rookie contract.

Statistically he has struggled and that heavily coincides with his lack of time played and injuries accrued. Even when he does play, he seems a step or two slow due to the accrued injuries over four seasons.

Snap Counts

Here are the snap counts for the games Turner played in his four seasons:

  • 2021 – 41% (143)
  • 2022 – 32% (171)
  • 2023 – 20% (25)
  • 2024 – 31% (335)

2024 season review

2024 was not much of a revelation for Turner, as despite being able to play in 16 games, he was unable to accrue any meaningful statistics over the course of the year. His 4 pass deflections were one of the very few stats he showed up for, as his height allowed him to make plays on passes off the edge rather often. Other than that though, it was not particularly a good season, and in what is a contract year, it was likely not enough to earn another with the Saints.

Stay or go?

As is clear by the analysis of his stats, health, or eye test, Turner just has not shown enough to prove he is worth another contract. As much as he looked like a solid player coming out of his draft class, he ultimately has struggled immensely with injuries which is truly unfortunate, as you hate to see any injuries to younger up and coming players.

As much as I would like to validate a one year deal, the defensive end room needs a bit of an overhaul, and new talent needs to find its way into that group. Turner would also likely benefit from new scenery and new coaching, so it is in the best interest of both teams to go there separate ways and find what they need.

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Saints free agent preview: LG Lucas Patrick, stay or go?

Previewing free agency for the New Orleans Saints: Should they retain left guard Lucas Patrick, or let him walk in the 2025 offseason?

The New Orleans Saints are going to have to make some decisions this offseason, with plenty of quality or depth free agents in this class, they will need to choose who to keep and who to let walk. While this is not as high-leverage of an offseason as some others for them, there are definitely some decent pieces they need to consider in their plans for the future.

One of the players they will need to make a decision on is Lucas Patrick, who started 10 games at left guard this season while battling several injuries. While he may not have been perfect, he performed well in the circumstances he was given.

With that said, here is his career in a nutshell so far:

Career Stats

Patrick has been able to start 64 of his 107 career games through eight seasons in the NFL. He is one of the most disciplined lineman in the NFL as well, with only 18 total penalties in his entire career, and despite having 7 in 2023 with the Chicago Bears, he never had more than 4 in any other season.

In his eight seasons he has only given up 9 sacks, 119 pressures, and 18 QB hits, good for a career 97.5% pass blocking rate.

Snap Counts

Here are the offensive snap counts for the games Patrick played in over the course of each season:

  • 2017 – 29% (227)
  • 2018 – 29% (278)
  • 2019 – 15% (137)
  • 2020 – 90% (939)
  • 2021 – 82% (911)
  • 2022 – 65% (269)
  • 2023 – 88% (958)
  • 2024 – 79% (563)

2024 season review

When it comes down to it, 2024 was actually a pretty exceptional season for Patrick. In his 563 snaps, he had 0 sacks allowed, 10 pressures allowed, and only 3 total penalties. This strong performance was good for a 98.4% pass block success rate. Additionally, 7 of his pressures allowed came from only 2 games, one of which was after his injury (Week 16 against Green Bay Packers) so he should at least get somewhat of a pass for that.

Overall, it was a quality season for Patrick who was coming off one of his worst seasons.

Stay or go?

Lucas Patrick is a player the Saints should make an effort to keep around, as at minimum veteran depth. He feels like he would fit into the role of what James Hurst did when he was with the Saints, a spot starter who can fill the void at a few positions, and hold the spot for a rookie as they develop. While not a long term option, he no doubt had a solid season, and if the Saints can get him on a one- or two-year deal on similar value to his past contract per year, they should no doubt accept that.

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Saints free agent preview: S Will Harris, stay or go?

Previewing free agency for the New Orleans Saints: Should they retain safety Will Harris, or let him walk in the 2025 offseason?

The New Orleans Saints and the NFL are growing ever closer to the offseason, with the playoffs only having a few weeks remaining before the Super Bowl. With that, the Saints have certainly started looking ahead at their own free agents and who to retain, so we shall as well.

One of the interesting free agents to discuss this offseason for New Orleans is safety Will Harris, who was a relatively strong contributor for the team in his age 29 season. After a midseason stint on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury, he was able to come back and wrap up the season on a relatively high note and honestly was valuable for the Saints defense.

So with that in mind, let’s take a look at his career so far:

Career Stats

Over the course of his career, Will Harris has been somewhat up and down in his play. In 2023 with the Detroit Lions he only got a little bit of playing time, accruing 18 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 pass deflections and a fumble recovery.

His most productive season however was likely in 2021 where he had a relatively strong performance overall with good statistical value. He had 93 tackles, 4 pass deflections, a forced fumble and a half of a sack, however, his coverage statistics were not as good, with a 73.4% completion rate allowed on 79 targets, giving up 732 yards and 5 touchdowns. Statistically he is very split between coverage and tackling, his coverage has never been spectacular but his tackling has been strong.

Snap Counts

Here are Harris’ defensive snap counts for the games he played in over the course of his career:

  • 2019 – 58% (667)
  • 2020 – 28% (312)
  • 2021 – 89% (1012)
  • 2022 – 66% (660)
  • 2023 – 18% (192)
  • 2024 – 94% (861)

2024 season review

2024 was actually one of the better years in coverage for Harris, only giving up a 65.9% completion rate (the best of his career since 2020) on 29 receptions, with 336 yards and no touchdowns allowed. This is primarily because he was playing lower in coverage, typically near the box, with an average depth of target of only 6.9 yards (lowest of his career).

He produced well, and while he was by no means perfect, he was a quality safety in 2024 for the Saints.

Stay or go?

When it comes to Harris, he should likely not be your undisputed safety next to Tyrann Mathieu heading into 2025, however if he was kept as a depth option or as competition for a rookie, that would not be all that bad of an idea.

He worked well in the system the Saints had built, both pre and post Dennis Allen, so having him around to coach up a rookie or young signing would by no means be a bad choice. I say the Saints should bring him back on another one year deal if possible for similar value, and let him be another cog in the secondary.

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Saints free agent preview: WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, stay or go?

Previewing free agency for the New Orleans Saints: Should they retain wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, or let him walk in the 2025 offseason?

The New Orleans Saints tough 2024 season is thankfully over, and now they get to look ahead to bigger and better things like their head coach hiring process, the 2025 NFL draft, and working on signings/re-signings in the coming weeks once the playoffs wrap up. This is an intriguing offseason when it comes to bringing back players, as there are not a ton of quality Saints players hitting the market, but there are certainly a few, and then many good depth pieces behind that.

One of the most interesting ones will be wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who signed with the Saints back in the middle of October and was a great offensive playmaker for the time he was with the team. The position is one of desperate need for the Saints as well given injury history and lack of true depth as well, so bringing him back may be in the cards.

With that said, let’s take a look back at his career so far as well as his ability to make the most of his opportunity with the Saints:

Career Stats

Valdes-Scantling has had a very up and down career in the NFL, having some truly spectacular seasons like 2020 when he led the league in yards per reception and 2022 when he was crucial to the Kansas City Chiefs offense. On the other hand, he has had down years like 2023 and 2021 where he was less productive and dealt with drops on a pretty consistent basis.

His catch percentage has never particularly been good or above average, as he has a career 49.5% catch rate, and his highest in a season was 52.4% in 2020 on 63 targets. Yards wise he has always stuck around the 300 to 600 range, his best seasons being 2020 with 690 and 2022 with 687. In terms of touchdowns, he has only ever had more than five in a season once, with six in 2020, though he did have four of them with the Saints this season in just eight games. Overall, he has always been somewhat of a large play producer with not a lot of value as an every down player, which is neither good nor bad.

Snap Counts

In seven seasons across various NFL teams, Valdes-Scantling has been primarily a deep shot threat, and that shows in his snap counts each year. In his eight games with the Saints in 2024, he got a higher snap percentage than all but two of his seasons (76% in 2020 and 68% in 2022) with 66%. His efficiency has always come from being a player you could rely on to push the defense back and allow for shots underneath to tight ends or short route players, and when that folded, you could take one big chunk play out of the defense all at once.

As the active leader in yards per reception, his snap count likely will not ever hit 70% or more again, but all he needs is 50% to 60% to make a true difference, and the Saints offered that in 2024 which he was able to work with.

2024 season review

The 2024 season for Valdes-Scantling was an intriguing one, as he started out with the Buffalo Bills and was able to play in six games, but was only targeted 9 times and had 2 receptions for 26 yards. The Bills eventually moved on from him, and he was picked up by the Saints which is where he started to get an opportunity after injuries to Rashid Shaheed and later Chris Olave.

In 8 games he started every one, having 35 targets for 17 receptions, 385 receiving yards (22.6 yards per catch), and 4 touchdowns with a 48.6% catch rate. He was nowhere near perfect, and was primarily only used as a deep threat with very few short receptions, however his explosiveness was one of the few things the Saints offense had going for it. Ultimately, he was good, but his skillset is very similar to what the Saints already have in Shaheed, which makes keeping him around interesting.

Stay or go?

When it comes down to retaining Marquez Valdes-Scantling, the price tag may not be a big issue as he chose the Saints already when he was cut previously, so he may take the option to remain here since it worked out already. The issue will be fitting him in with Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave, as both are deep threats already (Olave being a multi-faceted one). Ultimately it would not hurt to take a one year shot on him and just see if his production can remain, while you address the need for a true dominant outside receiver as well during the draft.

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Saints free agent preview: CB Paulson Adebo, stay or go?

Previewing free agency for the New Orleans Saints: Should they retain cornerback Paulson Adebo, or let him walk in the 2025 offseason?

The New Orleans Saints have an exceptionally interesting offseason coming up, with quite a few free agents hitting the market from their 2024 roster and minimal cap space at the moment to work with. Granted, there are very few free agents who are key contributors to the team, as many have been locked up previously by the front office, but there are a select few who have had large roles in recent years.

One such player is cornerback Paulson Adebo, who is set to hit the open market after his rookie deal expired. After a major leg injury during the 2024 season, he is one of the more interesting free agents from the Saints to look at. So without further ado, let’s take a look at his career so far:

Career Stats

Paulson Adebo has always been pretty strong in the statistics department, as he is the true definition of a ball-hawk cornerback. While he struggles immensely with penalties, the positives typically outweigh the negatives in his game. In his rookie year he accrued 3 interceptions and 8 pass deflections with 66 total tackles and 6 tackles for loss, however he allowed a 61.8% completion rate on passes where he was targeted. This only got worse in 2022 where he had no interceptions, 7 pass deflections, 60 total tackles and 2 tackles for loss (albeit in 13 games compared to 17), allowing a 65.8% completion rate and giving up 6 touchdowns.

2023 and 2024 are where Adebo really deserves credit, as in those two seasons he has been much stronger than the prior two. In 2023 he was targeted a whopping 100 times, and allowed 55 completions for 674 yards and 1 touchdown, as well as a 62.7 passer rating when targeted. He also had 4 interceptions, 18 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles with recoveries, and 76 total tackles. Then in 2024 he continued to be productive, and despite a major injury knocking him out for 10 games, in the first 7 games he had 3 interceptions, 10 pass deflections, 52 total tackles, a tackle for loss, and a 60.0% completion percentage allowed with a 71.9 passer rating allowed.

Snap Counts

The Saints have had a very clear vision for Paulson Adebo since day one, as they started him off somewhat slow with 76% of snaps in his rookie year (850) and mixed him in with other corners. Then in the next three seasons, he had 94%, 99%, and 91% of snaps in games he played, which is immensely impressive despite injuries taking some games off the total snap counts overall. He has seen quite a significant amount of playing time in his four seasons, and despite his flaws, has been a quality corner when it matters most.

2024 season review

Unfortunately the 2024 season was cut short for Paulson Adebo after a broken femur in Week 7, and then surgery to repair it. However, in the first seven games he was having a solid start to the year, almost tying his interception from the entire 2023 season and only 8 pass deflections short as well. He tied the Saints 2024 team lead for interceptions with Tyrann Mathieu at three a piece, and was second in pass deflections on the year with 10 behind only Alontae Taylor who had 16.

Stay or go?

Adebo is a difficult one to predict on whether he will remain with the Saints or not, primarily due to the factor of money. He will likely want a pretty substantial contract that the Saints may not be able to offer unless it is on the longer end around 4 to 5 years. If you offer that long of a contract though, who knows how he is producing at 29 to 30 years old when he is having problems with penalties already. It’s a difficult call on whether or not to pay him, my belief is they should try to retain him for two years if at all possible and see if he is worth keeping beyond that, but the free agent market may make than an impossibility.

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Saints free agent preview: TE Juwan Johnson, stay or go?

Previewing free agency for the New Orleans Saints: Should they retain tight end Juwan Johnson, or let him walk in the 2025 offseason?

The New Orleans Saints 2024 season wrapped up in pretty poor fashion, and now they look ahead to the 2025 offseason, free agency, and the NFL draft. They have quite a few free agents this offseason, however many are not their top producers, so that makes things a little easier on the pockets considering where they stand with cap space. Restructures will happen, cuts/releases will likely happen as well, and depending on how those go, re-signings and signings may end up being focal points for whoever the new head coach may be.

One of the more notable free agents the Saints have this offseason is tight end Juwan Johnson, who has been with the Saints for five seasons and has been their leading producer at the position for a few years now. With that said, let’s take a look back as his career so far:

Career Stats

Juwan Johnson has never been one of the elite producers at the tight end position, but over the past three seasons he has been solid at racking up yards and has been decent in the redzone, but maybe not as good as you would hope. His rookie year was basically a wash, as he only saw 38% of snaps and 10 targets. In 2021 he was still getting reps as a wide receiver, and only saw 22 targets for 13 receptions, 159 yards, and 4 touchdowns.

From 2022 to 2024 is when he was at his best, across those three years he played in 46 games with 28 starts, had 129 receptions on 190 targets for 14 touchdowns, and caught 67.9% of his targets. 2022 was his best season overall, with 508 receiving yards on 42 receptions and 7 touchdowns, compared to only 3 in 2024.

Snap Counts

The snap counts for Juwan Johnson have been very consistent in his tight end seasons, however in his first two years when he was a wide receiver he only had 182 and 236 snaps in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Since then, he has had 648, 555, and 697 snaps in each season, or 65%, 65%, and 64%. What is worth noting is that in 2024 he only started 5 of the games, compared to 11 in 2023 and 12 in 2022, despite playing all 17 games in 2024 compared to 13 in 2023. Many of his snaps this season came from being healthy, despite Foster Moreau and Taysom Hill getting starts over him.

2024 season review

Juwan Johnson had a very up and down season in 2024, where he had some games in which he was a key contributor, and others in which he was held off the stat sheet. His best game actually came in Week 18 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when he had 6 receptions on 7 targets for 80 yards (13.3 yards per reception).

The negative on his season was he did end up with 2 fumbles to only 3 touchdowns, both of which are the worst or near the worst of his career (he did have 0 touchdowns his rookie season). With that said, he did lead the team in receiving yards in 2024, with 5 more than Alvin Kamara and 143 more than Foster Moreau. Overall it was an odd season, as yards wise it was a very productive one, but otherwise it was not particularly great.

Future value to Saints

The future value of Juwan Johnson to the Saints is somewhat limited, as he will be 29 years old early in the 2025 season, and has still not really reached the next level of production you would hope for in what is essentially the prime of his career. Foster Moreau ended the season with more touchdowns, more yards per reception, a very similar catch percentage (only 1.4% less), only 6 less first downs, and no fumbles in the process on 23 less targets.

The tight end position is a hard one to get right, but an improvement would definitely be great for the offense of the Saints, and the 2025 NFL Draft class has quite a few quality ones. While it would be nice to have Johnson in a backup role, the room is getting more full by the day.

Stay or go?

Ultimately this signing comes down to price, as keeping Johnson for his ability to get first downs and yards is not a horrible idea, but he is not particularly effective in the redzone. Moreau and Johnson were a nice pairing this season, but one really high quality tight end would make things even more interesting as it could help out the depth deficit at wide receiver. If Johnson is willing to take a deal on the lower end of things with incentives, that would be the best case scenario for New Orleans, however if he receives significant interest elsewhere (presumably from the Denver Broncos and Sean Payton), it would be likely that he will leave.

The likelihood that he stays is almost completely reliant on price tag, but as of now it seems like the Saints may try to find another option to fill out the rotation at tight end.

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Saints free agent preview: DE Chase Young, stay or go?

Previewing free agency for the New Orleans Saints: Should they retain defensive end Chase Young, or let him walk in the 2025 offseason?

The New Orleans Saints and their cap space is a tale as old as time, and this year is no different, as they enter the offseason somewhere around $50 million over the salary cap. With that, they also have numerous free agents to attempt to re-sign, and only some will likely be brought back as others will have to walk. The decisions will need to be made in the near future, and while this is not particularly a huge free agent class for the Saints, there are still a few notable ones to cover.

This brings us to arguably the most notable of the list, which is defensive end Chase Young, who the Saints just brought in this past offseason and while he was not perfect, he did have a strong season. He came to the Saints on a one year deal worth $13 million, and now has a chance to either re-up his deal or move on and find money elsewhere, which was the initial intent of the deal it seems anyways.

So with that said, let’s recap his one-year stint with the Saints so far, as well as his career production:

Career Stats

In his career, Chase Young has been very hit or miss in various categories, and while he has been a quality defensive end, he has never been elite like people expected when he came out of the 2020 NFL Draft. His rookie year may be his best when it comes down to it, as he had 7.5 sacks, 44 combined tackles, 12 QB hits, 42 pressures, 10 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles with 3 recovered, and 4 pass deflections. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year in that season, as well as getting a Pro Bowl nod. His next two seasons he was injured in some capacity, playing in only 12 total games and only having 1.5 sacks with 31 tackles and 3 pass deflections in those two years.

In 2023 and 2024 he has returned to form somewhat comparatively, with 7.5 sacks and 5.5 sacks respectively. In 2023 he had 74 pressures, 25 total tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 15 QB hits and 2 pass deflections. He followed that up with 66 pressures, 31 total tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 21 QB hits, 3 pass deflections and a forced fumble with the Saints in 2024. Overall, he has had a productive career, but if he could turn more pressures and hits into sacks he would be one of the best defensive ends in the league.

Snap Counts

The snap counts for Chase young have fluctuated quite a bit in all of his seasons, starting off with 770 in his rookie year, then dropping to 477 and 115 in his two injured seasons. In 2023 and 2024 he picked back up again with 735 and 742. Compared to Carl Granderson this season, who is typically the Saints best edge rusher in recent years, he had only 84 less snaps, meaning he kept up with one of the better players on their defense.

2024 season review

Overall, it was a strong season for Chase Young in 2024, coming into a new scheme with multiple other defensive ends vying for snaps and taking away almost 65% of all defensive snaps is impressive. Coming into a new scheme and producing the pressure he was able to is also impressive, and despite the lower sack number, he affected the game in a positive way, and was tied for second on the team in sacks behind only Bryan Bresee.

While he was not perfect, he was solid, and considering how poor the pass rush has been with this team for a few seasons now, I would much prefer solid to bad. The difficulty will be that he was brought in under Dennis Allen and Joe Woods, the prior of whom is now gone and the latter may be gone with a new coaching change, which makes being re-signed slightly less likely.

Future value to Saints

Young’s future value to the Saints is pretty simple, he is a 25 year old pass rusher (nearing 26) who has enormous potential, and flashed it this year with his productivity in many key statistics. For a team that has struggled immensely to hit on draft picks at the defensive end position, retaining one who produced at an above average level for a few years to fill the need is definitely possible.

Stay or go?

In my opinion, it would be beneficial for the Saints to keep Young on a 2-3 year deal that is heavily incentive laden, but has solid guarantees to try and stay ahead of other teams when it comes to price. Will they be able to outbid other teams? Maybe not. But it is worth a shot, as he is not a veteran and still has alot of playing time left in his career, which is exactly what the Saints need to turn things around rather than paying aging players with waning production.

If there is any one player from this free agency class to bring back, it would be Young or potentially Paulson Adebo depending on his recovery.

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