Acme Packing Company
A college connection to Jeff Hafley and strong pressure production makes the former second overall pick a match
No position group left 2024 a bigger disappointment than the Green Bay Packers’ defensive front. The team ranked twentieth in pressure rate according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats numbers, and Rashan Gary was the only player to rank within the top 110 players in pressures on the season. Even Gary ranked a disappointing 25th and had only a 13.6% pressure rate. Adding pass-rush talent to this group is vital for the defense to take the next step in 2025. The linebackers cannot be relied upon to generate pressure from the second level as much as they did in 2024. Thankfully, the 2025 free agent class has a few options to help with that.
One that checks a few boxes Green Bay typically likes in their signings is New Orleans defensive end Chase Young. When it comes to pressure generation, few did it better than Young in 2024. Young’s 70 pressures off the edge ranked only behind Trey Hendrickson, Danielle Hunter, Myles Garrett, Jared Verse, and Micah Parsons league-wide. Young’s 24 quick pressures (pressures within three seconds) ranked thirteenth in the league and eleventh among edge defenders. Rashan Gary was the only other Packer that exceeded even twelve quick pressures. Young’s pressure rate put him right between Aidan Hutchinson and Nick Bosa at 16.2%, nearly three percentage points higher than Gary, and five points higher than Lukas Van Ness.
Young’s production has been on an upward trajectory over the course of the past two seasons. After a disappointing spell with the Washington Commanders, after being the second overall, the former Buckeye had a bit of a mini-breakout in 2023 playing for the San Francisco 49ers, generating a 15% pressure rate and 7.5 sacks while playing about 70% of the snaps. While the sacks declined a bit in 2024, the pressure rate actually improved while playing in a slightly worse situation.
What is particularly encouraging regarding Young’s 2024 is that he was only held pressureless in one game this season, a Week 6 matchup with Tampa Bay. In every other game, he registered at least two pressures, including a monster twelve-pressure performance against the New York Giants in Week 14.
While the pressure production has been good, there are two areas of concern with Young. On the field, his run defense has never been his strong suit. It’s not for lack of size, as Young measures in at a very prototypical 6’4’’ and 265 lbs, but missed tackles and assignment integrity have been an issue before. The other, and perhaps more pressing issue, is Young’s medicals. Last spring Young underwent neck surgery after suffering a stinger early in the 2023 season. Back in 2021, Young tore his ACL in Week 10, causing him to miss the back half of that season and much of 2022. The fact that Young has actually had his best production after the ACL injury suggests that it may...
