The New Orleans Saints had two edge rushers with double digit sacks a year ago, and with the way they're headed, the Saints may reach that milestone again in the next few weeks. Instead of being Chase Young and Cameron Jordan, like it was last season, Young and Carl Granderson are each well on their way for double sacks and possibly going for 12 sacks a piece. The duo has emerged as the league's best pass rushing duo.
There's no one who saw that coming at the beginning of the year and very little people, if any, thought it was even a possibility. However, check the stats and it's clear. Young and Granderson are the only players from the same team who are both in the top 5 for sacks.
Granderson's in a logjam for fourth place with 7.5 sacks, and Young is second in the league 8 sacks. The Vikings are a close second with 14.5 sacks from their top duo, but Dallas Turner sits outside the top-5 with 7 sacks.
Chase Young and Carl Granderson have been the biggest surprise of the Saints season
Young's production isn't much of a surprise. We were looking for a 12-15 sack season out of him after 10 sack season in just 12 games last year. It's Granderson that makes this a genuine shocker.
Granderson was on fire in October, and he started November even better. He registered 1.5 sacks each week of October and had 2 sacks last week, making him the first player league wide since 2013 to record multiple sacks in four consecutive games.
This evel of consistency from Granderson is what we've been waiting for out of him, and right now, he's playing on a different level. He's active in the run game and impacting passers beyond just sacks. He's quietly grown into an impact player for the Saints and his first double digit sack campaign would cement him as an impactful partner to Young.
The surprise of Granderson's year has overshadowed Young's season at times. He's going toe-to-toe with Will Anderson Jr. for the sack title, and it's not hard to see why when looking at the tape. Last week, Young was being triple teamed by the tackle, guard and center, and they still had to had to hold him to stop him.
Young has been dominant this year, and that play is a prime display of it. He's fighting through double teams, and he's still doing a good job of getting to the quarterback quickly. Young is top-5 in the league in sacks, total pressures and quick pressures.
Coming into the season it felt like Texas pass rusher Colin SImmons was the obvious pick for the Saints, but the way Young and Granderson are playing could definitely nudge the Saints to go with an impact prospect at a different position when April rolls around if the prospects are close. That's a perfect encapsulation of how shocking the duo has been this year.
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