The New Orleans Saints once again couldn’t come out on top, falling 23-3 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season at Caesars Superdome. This week, we’re revisiting one of the biggest
offseason overreactions—one that’s looking less and less true by the week:
The Saints overpaid for Chase Young.
This offseason, New Orleans inked the 2020 second overall pick to a three-year, $51 million deal worth up to $57 million, with $33 million guaranteed—a move that didn’t exactly garner rave reviews at the time.
Against Tampa Bay on Sunday, Young turned in another dominant performance since returning from his calf injury three weeks ago, logging his fifth career multi-sack game. He recorded three total pressures, three stops, two sacks and one tackle, while also forcing and recovering a fumble on Bucs’ QB Baker Mayfield. Young earned a team-high 86.8 overall grade and a 92.3 pass-rush grade from Pro Football Focus.
Through just his first three games, the 26-year-old ranks fifth on the team in pressures (11) and second in sacks (3). Since his return, he leads the NFL in pass-rush productivity over the last three weeks with a 14.9 score—a PFF metric that combines sacks, hits and hurries based on how many times a player rushes the passer. Young’s 21.3% pass-rush win rate ties Packers’ Micah Parsons and Texans’ Danielle Hunter for the 10th-best mark league-wide during that span.
After appearing in all 17 games for New Orleans in 2024, Young finished sixth in the league in total pressures with 73, according to Next Gen Stats. However, given his prior injury history and lackluster sack production—just 5.5 in his first year with the Black and Gold—many thought the Saints made a mistake locking him in through 2027. But it’s clear this defense is at its best when Young is on the field, as he continues to be the impact player New Orleans hoped for when they extended him.
After all the doubt he’s faced throughout his career, it’s time Young gets the respect he deserves.
