Saints pass rush duo Chase Young and Carl Granderson pairs for 15.5 sacks, building a reputation as New Orleans’ top tandem

The central question in this season’s Saints pass rush has been simple: can the team’s edge talent function as a true tandem. Through this point of the year, Chase Young and Carl Granderson have delivered, combining for 15.5 sacks for New Orleans.

In the team’s own season recap, Young is listed with 8 sacks and Granderson with 7.5, and the club frames the duo as a league-leading group together. The same report says New Orleans ranks the pass-rush tandem second and fourth individually, with the pairing currently among the best in the NFL by combined production.

The production is also being tied to how each player wins. Young is described as emphasizing a “speed to power” approach, and the team notes he is sitting on 13 quarterback hits, five tackles for loss, and other impact plays that go beyond sacks alone.

Granderson’s season is portrayed as both productive and consistent. The Saints report he is a sack away from tying his single-season best despite missing one game, and it highlights a streak of four consecutive games with at least 1.5 sacks, a benchmark the team says is unique in franchise history and rare across the league since 2013.

New Orleans also points to an established fit between the two, with the report describing the duo as entering their third year together and presenting different looks based on their tendencies. Defensive coordinator Brandon Staley is quoted describing how play-calling and positioning have helped the pair translate their skill sets into repeatable pressure, while both players credit their “competition” and shared in-game momentum.