Chase Young carried over the momentum from last season to this year. One of my biggest questions for Young was how many sacks would he have gotten last year if he was healthy all year long. He set a career high, with 10 sacks in 2026, and he's poised to blow past that this year right to the Saints' record books.
Young started the season healthy, and the result has been 7 sacks in the first seven games. Only Houston Texans edge rusher Will Anderson has more sacks than Young.
Anderson was viewed as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate and a player who could challenge for the crown of best edge rusher in the game. It's time to start putting Young in those conversations as well. He looks like every bit of player football fans thought he would coming out of Ohio State, and his trajectory over the last three years suggests he can keep this going.
Chase Young has revitalized his career with the Saints and is on pace for the record books
Young has been on a steady trend upward during his three years in New Orleans. Year 1 he was a heavy pressure player, but the sacks weren't there. It was frustrating and even made some question the contract when the Saints paid him last offseason, but he's silenced all critics.
This offseason, Young said "Staley's defense is made for good edge play." Young's been proof of that in 2025 and so far in 2026. Young had 10 sacks last year, and he's on pace to set the Saints single season sack record in 2026.
Technically, Young having seven sacks in the first seven games ties Cam Jordan for the most in franchise history, but sacks in the first seven games isn't a metric that's heavily tracked or applauded. The first seven games does have him on pace to tie the Saints franchise record of 17 sacks in a season.
Jordan ended his season with 15.5 sacks, and it isn't unrealistic to say Young could surpass that number. He's had 1.5 sacks in each of the last two games. Beyond the numbers on the page, Young is an impact player for the Saints.
Young's sacks tend to come at the biggest moments. He's a beast on third downs, and his last sack of the game on Sunday put the Saints offense in position to make a last effort to win the game. That isn't uncommon for Young either, which is why he is the biggest impact player on the defense and arguably the entire team.
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