Many New Orleans Saints fans were eagerly anticipating the return of edge rusher Chase Young, hoping that he would provide a spark to a pass rushing unit that had sack numbers that would suggest the pass rush was better than it truly was.
Young missed the first five games of the season due to a calf injury. In his return, he was showed his fatal flaw is still present. Young struggles to finish at the quarterback
The New Orleans Saints came up short in another tightly contested match, falling 25-19 at home to the New England Patriots in week 6. Despite a strong effort, the Saints defense couldn’t come up with a stop when it mattered most.
With the game on the line late in the 4th quarter, the Saints pass rusher failed to apply pressure on Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who made them pay, by delivering a 21 yard strike to wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, that eventually sealed the game.
Chase Young’s quiet return disappoints but shouldn’t cause panic
Young’s return to the field was a bit underwhelming, as the former number 2 overall pick recorded just one tackle and failed to record a sack or quarterback hit in his debut. However, he did manage to post a 20% pass rush win rate on 15 pass rush snaps, which is a respectable percentage coming off of a five game absence. Still, this didn’t meet the expected production from their $51 million investment.
Last season, Young did a solid job of generating pressure on opposing quarterbacks, but he often struggled to finish plays, finishing the season with only 5.5 sacks. In his return against New England it felt like more of the same. Drake Maye operated in the pocket with comfort for most of the game, as Young and the rest of the Saints pass rush were a step too slow on numerous passing attempts.
While Young did not have his best day, it is important that this was his first action back from injury in a brand new defensive scheme. It will take some time for him to get comfortable and fully acclimated. Judging his performance based on a single game is premature, Saints fans should wait for a larger sample size before hitting the panic button.
