Saints pass rush outlook

By: Jake Rajala

The New Orleans Saints were known for having a pass rush that would flat out dominate former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. Well, times have changed. Cameron Jordan, who was once named NFC Defensive Player of The Week for wreaking havoc against Brady and the Bucs, is a shell of his once self. He has only registered six sacks in the past two seasons combined! Trey Hendrickson, who played like a DPOY candidate against Brady for the Saints, is also in a Cincinnati Bengals jersey.

Chase Young is a gifted pass rusher, but he’s a tad overrated. They let Hendrickson leave and they’re overpaying for Young. Young has never had more than 7.5 sacks in a single season. Young had a PFF grade last season of 66.4, which wasn’t exactly daunting.

Carl Granderson is the best pass rusher on the Saints in my opinion. He has 14 sacks in the past two seasons combined. Furthermore, he had a solid PFF grade of 79.7 last season. The Saints DT Bryan Bresee has elevated his game over the past two seasons. In his latest season, he recorded 7.5 sacks after only unveiling 4.5 sacks in 2023. He has been a better pass rusher than former Saints DTs Nick Fairly and Sheldon Rankins.

It won’t be easy for the Saints pass rush to dominate on the edge. The Bucs LT Tristan Wirfs is one of the best LTs in football. He had a PFF grade of 82.8 last season. He blatantly has the advantage over the Saints defensive ends in my humble opinion.

With that said, the Saints DL could ruin the Bucs day by dominating of the interior of the Bucs OL. Center Graham Barton merely garnered a 55.8 PFF grade last season. Furthermore, Ben Bredeson only managed to garner a 56.2 PFF grade in 2024! Bresee can wreak havoc against these below average faces and even Cam Jordan can make plays from the inside on third down!

The Saints didn’t exactly impose their will when it came to hunting the Bucs QB last season. They only sacked Baker once in their first meeting and once in their second meeting!

The Saints secondary won’t make it easier for the Saints pass rush to get home. Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo aren’t on the roster anymore. The Saints were superior when it came to getting to Brady with their front four and not needing to blitz. That strategy didn’t work out so well last season. The Saints will need to call the right blitzes and pick the right match-ups for the Saints DL against the Bucs OL.