Chase Young is the most important player on the New Orleans Saints defense in Week 3 because he’s the most likely player to disrupt the flow of the Las Vegas Raiders offense. Kaden Elliss is an extremely close second in this race. The way those two impact both Kirk Cousins and Ashton Jeanty sets them apart from the rest of the defense.
Obviously, the entire defense will be tasked with stopping the Raiders offense, but Young and Elliss are best equipped to make the greatest impact because of the speed of their pass rush and natural inclusion in the run game. Getting to Cousins fast and keeping Jeanty under control should be priorities 1 and 2.
If the Saints are able to do that, there’s a chance the game isn’t even close. It starts with the front seven, and big games from Young and Elliss make it much more likely.
Chase Young has been one of the fastest pass rushers in the league
Stopping Jeanty will be the ultimate team effort. Young will have to set strong edges, and Elliss, along with Pete Werner in the midst of a surprisingly strong start, will have to track Jeanty with gap discipline. Those are going to be two of the most important aspects of stopping the Vegas run game, but that being said, it’ll largely be irrelevant if the interior defensive line isn’t productive.
Pass rush is where Young and Elliss can stand out individually. They both provide the speed necessary to disrupt Cousins’ rhythm. As a linebacker, Elliss is naturally one of the team’s quicker rushers, so it’ll be interesting to see if Brandon Staley blitzes Elliss a tad more often this week.
Young is faster than he's ever been this year. He averages a .71 second get off through two weeks, ranking fifth in the league.
The Saints have struggled to get a pass rush going consistently, but it's primarily been Young driving it when it is successful. His 12 pressures are also fifth in the NFL. He'll need to keep that momentum this week and do it quickly at that.
It’s going to be important to get to Cousins early. It's not all about sacks either. Cousins isn't mobile, so getting to him before he can get the ball away is a huge part of impacting his performance.
The veteran can be difficult to disrupt once he settles into a rhythm. Early pressure could make Cousins antsy in the pocket and limit the big plays the Raiders hit last week.
It'll be on the Saints defense to not allow much run after the catch, but the Saints have to force the quick passes first. If you allow him to, Cousins will sit back in the pocket and pick you apart downfield.
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