As each NFL team is officially in offseason mode, everything is on the table when it comes to the kinds of moves teams could make to reach the Super Bowl next year. For the Bucs, that focus will be centered around how they can build up the defense, especially from a pass-rushing standpoint.
Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby, and Trey Hendrickson are among the names being floated about as being on the trade block and in various hypotheticals, while the free agent market is headlined by Khalil Mack, Haason Reddick, and Super Bowl LIX star Josh Sweat. Each of them would add a high-profile, top-tier veteran into the mix, there is another option on the market who – while once high-profile – now is more of a bounce back candidate.
Defensive end Chase Young.
Young, the second overall pick by the then-Washington Football Team in 2020, spent the past season with the Saints and will be looking for a new home. With the Bucs needing players who can get after the quarterback, he is someone who could flourish and get his career back on track in Tampa Bay.
Chase Young Once Appeared To Be A Superstar Pass Rusher
Former Bucs QB Tom Brady and Saints DE Chase Young – Photo by: USA Today
Before the 2020 NFL Draft, Chase Young was compared to Hall of Famer Julius Peppers and viewed as a perennial All-Pro prospect. This was for good reason, as Young was coming off a 16.5-sack, seven-forced fumble season at Ohio State. Young then hit the ground running in the NFL as a defensive end who looked every bit like a player set to have a long career filled with accolades ahead of him.
Young made the Pro Bowl in his rookie year and was named NFL AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. For context, Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr. received one vote and finished fourth that year. With the 6-foot-5, 265-pound pass rusher leading a Washington defense featuring Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen, and Daron Payne, things appeared bright for them upfront for a long time..
Then, Young’s career began to spiral when he played the Bucs in Week 10 of the 2021 season.
Saints DE Chase Young and Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes – Photo by: USA Today
In that game, he tore his ACL and Patellar Tendon, which led to a prolonged recovery time. Young would only play the last three games of the 2022 season and did not record a sack. After playing in seven games and recording five sacks with the Commanders in 2023, they dealt him to the 49ers for a third-round pick. He became more of a rotational defensive lineman in San Francisco and decided to bet on himself last offseason signing a one-year, $13 million deal with the Saints.
A day after putting pen to paper, it was announced that he would undergo neck surgery and missed part of training camp. While it was a concern at the time, he played all 17 games in 2024. Young did not get back to the heights he reached as a rookie, recording 31 total tackles, 21 quarterback hits, eight tackles for a loss, and 5.5 sacks.
The underlying metrics lead to a different takeaway, though.
His quarterback hits point to him being close to having more sacks, as did his 66 pressures, which ranked 14th in the league (tied with Josh Sweat). Does this point to the 25-year-old still possessing the talent to get to double-digit sacks in 2025 and beyond?
Signing Chase Young Comes With Risk, But The Reward Could Be Huge
Bucs GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
It is no secret that the Bucs want to make another Shaq Barrett-level signing to the defense.
After signing a one-year deal in 2019, Barrett rewarded Tampa Bay with 19.5 sacks and parlayed that into a bigger deal the following offseason. While some names come to mind as the next diamond-in-the-rough addition by general manager Jason Licht, Chase Young has already shown he is a diamond, just one that needs some touching up.
For someone of Young’s pedigree, he would come with a lower price tag than Khalil Mack and Josh Sweat, and more in line with a potential Haason Reddick contract. Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo forecasts a three-year, $45 million deal for Young, an average of $15 million per year. On a one-year deal at a similar price point, it would not be a bad way to invest funds if Tampa Bay loses out on other targets.
Pro Football Focus even connected him as a Bucs fit last month as the one free agent they should pursue.
Despite Tampa Bay’s offensive ascension in 2024, its defense lagged — especially in pass rush, where the Buccaneers placed 21st in team PFF pass-rushing grade. Upgrading at both edge rusher and interior defender is in order for general manager Jason Licht.
During his one-year stint in New Orleans, Young was phenomenal as a pass-rusher, ranking 14th among qualifying edge rushers with a 13.7% pass-rush win rate while racking up 66 pressures. He’s struggled as a tackler lately, finishing with a missed tackle rate above 20% in each of the past three years, which would likely lower his price tag. But in terms of pure pass-rush ability and upside, the 25-year-old could be a steal for a team like Tampa Bay, which would partner him with the burgeoning Yaya Diaby.
How Would Chase Young Fit With The Bucs?
Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
In the land of hypotheticals this time of year, let’s say Chase Young signs with the Bucs next month in free agency. In head coach Todd Bowles’ 3-4 defense, Young would line up as an outside linebacker as opposed to being the defensive end he has been throughout his NFL career in 4-3 defenses. That would take some adjusting for him, but he has the size and speed to be a factor paired with Yaya Diaby.
Plugging him in as a starter offers more upside than every other option Bowles had at outside linebacker last year. Diaby and Young paired together raise the floor of the outside pass rush, as both apply a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Bringing him in does not rule out another outside addition, nor should it deter Tampa Bay from allowing 2024 second-round pick Chris Braswell from seeing the field more.
Signing Chase Young would add someone with a chip on their shoulder who surely wants to make up for lost time and rebuild the reputation he once had as one of the game’s next elite pass rushers. It’s a gamble, but one Jason Licht should consider taking.
