30 players who will avoid bust status with a breakout campaign in 2024
By Nick Villano
6. Chase Young, New Orleans Saints
So, here’s the thing. The Saints signed Chase Young this offseason because Turner hasn’t lived up to the hype, but can anyone argue Young has come anywhere close to the hype that made him the second-overall pick for Washington? He had 7.5 sacks last year. Yet, the Saints made the very odd decision to give him $13 million for this season.
It’s a one-year deal, so the Saints can get out of this scott-free if it doesn’t work out, but this is a team with perpetual salary cap issues. They gave $13 million to a player who is far from a guarantee. Maybe they hope that one of Turner or Young turns into something. Who really knows what’s happening in that front office, which hasn’t put together a positive offseason in years?
What would “living up to the hype” even look like for Young? General consensus says he has to have double-digit sacks this season, along with career-highs in QB hits and tackles for loss. That wouldn’t even be impressive. A stat line of 10 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and 16 QB hits isn’t even as good as new Falcons defensive lineman Matt Judon, who has a base salary of $6.5 million this season.