The New Orleans Saints didn’t get as much out of Chase Young as they might have liked last year, but they might not have any choice but to look to bring him back. The only issue is that they might have some major competition for him.
Young has been in the league for five years now. He has 22 career sacks with 28 total tackles for a loss. For someone that was a former second overall pick, that is clearly not ideal production. The good news is that he seems to be finding a groove. His past two years have been the best since his rookie year, all while also not playing on every down. He actually played just 63% of the Saints’ snaps last season.
With how much of a commodity pass-rushing defensive ends are in the NFL, there will certainly be a market for his talents. These are some of the best fits for him, that New Orleans will need to worry about.
Atlanta Falcons
They need to do a bit of work in the cap before they can sign him, but this seems just like what the Falcons would do in free agency. They have not been shy about signing former Saints and Young fits exactly what they need to add to their roster.
Atlanta’s defensive line was one of the worst units in the league a year ago and there isn’t much real hope of their current players turning things around. They have been busy in adding to their defense in recent years with signings in the secondary like Justin Simmons and Jessie Bates III. They should be fine on the second level. What would really push them over the edge is another, well, EDGE defender.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals already had one of the least productive lines in the league last year, and they are set to lose their top two players. Sam Hubbard made the shocking choice to retire before turning 30 and former New Orleans standout Trey Hendrickson has been granted permission to seek a trade.
Of their underwhelming 36 sacks, Hendrickson had a whopping 17.5 of them. After him, Joseph Ossai had the second-most with just five. Their 2023 first round draft pick Myles Murphy has not worked out much at all, so they may have to resort to free agency to add help.
Young would immediately be their best player on the front seven, which might allow him to get a little bit more money as they are desperate and have the 10th most money to work with.
Detroit Lions
If the fact that they signed Marcus Davenport last season wasn’t enough of a hint, the Lions are desperate for more production on the defensive line.
They have one of the best players in the NFL at the position in Aidan Hutchinson, but they don’t have much else outside of him. Hutchinson led the team in sacks with 7.5, but he played in just five games. Za’Darius Smith finished second with four, and he played in just eight games.
While Hutchinson and Smith would be a fine duo to start the year, they would be foolish to not target one of the top players available at the position with how much money they have.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts found a solid defensive end last year in the draft with Laiatu Latu. The problem is that he is still young, and can only cover one side of the line. They did also pick up the fifth-year option on Kwity Paye, but they clearly need more help.
The defensive ends on the roster behind those two combined for just 4.5 sacks total. Adding in Young would give them a balanced and deep pass rush rotation, helping keep all three players fresh.
