With one week left in the 2024 regular season, over half if the league is preparing for offseason mode. That means shifting attention from winning games to coaching searches, the NFL Draft, and free agency. All three will be big for the New Orleans Saints who are set to hire a new coach, have a top-10 draft pick, and also several veterans that could be entering free agency.
One of those veterans is Chase Young, who the Saints signed as a free agent in 2024. Young signed a one-year, prove-it deal, and now that the season is coming to an end, it’s time for him to see what he proved to teams throughout the league.
According to NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks, Chase Young had a successful contract year. Brooks named Young as one of seven contract-year winners that are poised to break the bank in free agency.
Saints DE Chase Young predicted to break the bank in free agency
Brooks believes what Young put on film this season, along with his age and the value of edge rushers, will lead to some team giving him a lot of money this offseason.
"Pass rushers are always highly coveted, especially those with prototypical dimensions and dynamic traits. Though Young hasn't played to expectations as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the 6-5, 264-pounder flashes enough disruptive potential to entice a needy team to gamble on his upside and potential. Given his 22 career sacks (including 5.5 in 2024) and seven forced fumbles -- not to mention the fact that he's still just 25 -- Young is an enticing boom-or-bust prospect in a league that's always hungry for QB hunters."Bucky Brooks (NFL.com)
This is likely a surprising assessment to Saints fans, because not many would argue he’s been a game-wrecking edge defender in his season in New Orleans. Playing in all 16 games this season, Young has 5.5 sacks, 30 tackles, eight for a loss, 21 quarterback hits, and 29 total pressures.
While Young hasn’t been bad, he’s been somewhat of a frustrating player for New Orleans fans, because he doesn’t always convert his pressures into sacks. When everything is going wrong like it has for the Saints this season, that can definitely be annoying. However, outside of the Saints community, Young has seemingly proven his value to the league and is about to get the compensation that reflects that.