The New Orleans Saints kickoff their season in 96 days against the Arizona Cardinals. We continue our countdown to kickoff with another player profile. This time we're highlighting defensive end Carl Granderson.
Granderson will be tasked with leading the charge, next to Chase Young, to revitalize a poor pass rush. Personally, Granderson will be looking for a bounce back season.
2024 was a setback for Carl Granderson
Granderson has been on a steady trajectory over the last few years until last year. The defensive end didn't play consistently in his first few years in the league. However, you were able to see the talent. He doesn't have elite speed off the edge, but he displayed a good burst when rushing the passer.
In his first full year playing, Granderson racked up 5 sacks. He was a solid contributor to the pass rush rotation, and that's all Granderson needed to be. Trey Hendrickson had his breakout season that same season, and Cameron Jordan was still a force.
The following year it was Jordan and Marcus Davenport leading the charge on the edge. That may not sound great, but it was the year Davenport delivered on the hype with 9 sacks, not the next year when he finally stayed healthy but ended the year with half a sack. Granderson still was sparingly used and saw his sacks dip slightly.
Granderson still played a rotational role in 2022 but his 5.5 sacks led to an increased role in 2023. That was his breakout year. Up to that point, Granderson had never played more than half the snaps. This year he played 79 percent of the defensive snaps and made the most of it. The defensive end finished with 8.5 sacks, 14 tackles for a loss and 20 quarterback hits, all career-high.
Will Granderson bounce back in Brandon Staley's system?
There was more expected from Granderson in 2024. Having a setback right after a breakout year will lead to Granderson being naturally questioned. Did he have a down year, or was 2023 a fluke? The defensive end's 2025 campaign will go a long way to answering that question.
The pass rush unit, as a whole, will be under a microscope. Chase Young and Granderson are both looking to bounce back under new defensive coordinator, Brandon Staley.
Staley mentioned both Granderson and Young are dropping weight. Losing a few pounds could bring back the speed Granderson showed when he was in a rotational role. That would benefit the Saints in pass defense and rush defense versus perimeter runs.