Chase Young, an edge rusher, was signed by the New Orleans Saints in free agency, fully aware that he would require neck surgery.
Still, it appears that Young has advanced significantly.
According to John DeShazier of the Saints’ official club website, head coach Dennis Allen stated, “He’s definitely ahead of where we thought he was going to be at this point in time and so, I think the ramp up for him is just every day, you’re going to see a little bit more.” What’s a little bit more, now? Until we’re ready to completely include him into the process, there might be a few more repetitions every session.
For Young, injuries are nothing new.
The Ohio State product has never participated in a complete NFL season and has only made 43 appearances overall over the course of four seasons.
However, things might be different for the former No. 2 overall pick in 2024.
In addition, Allen stated, “I haven’t seen any limitations out of him other than the fact that it’s been a while since he’s really been playing real football.” “I like the progress, just trying to get his football legs up under him a little bit.”
With the Saints, will Chase Young finally live up to the hype?
Expectations were sky high when Washington selected Young with the second choice in the 2020 NFL Draft. Young was supposed to be a great player, and he showed off his enormous potential right away.
Young’s debut season saw him play in 15 games and record 44 tackles, 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and a defensive score on his way to being selected to the Pro Bowl.
But ever since, Young has had a difficult journey.
Nine games into his sophomore season, he tore his ACL, which prevented him from playing in more than three games in 2022. Young only managed to accumulate 1.5 sacks during that time.
After missing the Commanders’ season opener last year due to a stinger, the 25-year-old had a strong comeback season, totaling 25 tackles and 7.5 sacks between Washington and the San Francisco 49ers (he was traded in late October at the trade deadline).
Naturally, that still isn’t the kind of performance that everyone had hoped for when Young graduated from college.
Young has to show himself in 2024 because he only has a one-year contract with the Saints.
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