Previous stops with the Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers didn't produce an NFL home for Chase Young.
He didn't have the right realtors.
New Orleans Saints star linebacker Demario Davis, a 14-year veteran and five-time All-Pro, and edge rusher Cameron Jordan, a 15-year veteran and three-time All-Pro, have been prominent guides for Young since he signed with the Saints in 2024.
They've helped him achieve a space of comfort, acceptance and career-best productivity. Young had career highs in sacks (10) and tackles for loss (11), tied career marks with four passes defensed, three fumble recoveries and a fumble return for a touchdown, and had 15 quarterback hits and 38 tackles in just 12 games this season.
"I knew I found a home when God had put me in a place with two veteran players that could kind of teach me the ways, of just the league," Young said. "When I came into the league, I didn't really have that. I come on this team, I've got Double D (Demario Davis) who's always setting the standard, I've got Cam Jordan.
"Double D talked about it, he said you have to have the stamina for greatness. Cam Jordan gets to the building the same time every day, he does the same things every day, and he's done them for 15 years. That's the stamina for greatness. When you've got people like that leading the way, you have to hold yourself to a certain standard because you see it every day. They're 35, 36 (years old). I'm 26. If they can do it, it's like, what am I doing? I'm blessed to be under those two guys."
Young tore his ACL in his second season and had neck surgery shortly after signing with the Saints in '24. He didn't miss any games last season but previous injuries hampered his production. The calf injury which sidelined him the first five games this year did not.
"People don't know what I've been through in my career," he said. "It's all God, man. I remember moments being in the dark place at times and just staying down. People say, 'stay down,' but you don't know what it's like to stay down until you've got to do it. Just staying down and just God keeping His hand on me, that's all I can really say about that."
Davis, who had a career-best 143 tackles this season, and Jordan, the franchise all-time leader with 132 sacks — his team-leading 10.5 this season is the franchise-record seventh time he totaled 10 or more sacks in a season — also have been hands-on.
"(Young) was somebody that kind of came to me right away and was just like, 'Whatever you've got, I want it. I want to know how you train, however you take care of your body, I want to know about it,'" Davis said. "That stood out."
But his interests extended beyond the field. "We had a lot of conversations about not just being a great player, but be a great man, be a great leader. There are never days off. It ain't like you just come and you put in work on the football field and then you turn it off when you go on about your life. And I watched him grow as a man, I watched him grow as a human being, I watched him grow as a person.
"He knew what he had to do. He was like, 'DD, just hold me accountable. I know what I've got to do to change.' And he did it. He won all those battles in the dark, and I think that's just a reflection of life. Of what's possible. Everybody has those individual battles and the story will follow your journey. Publicly what happens will be directly reflective of what happens in the dark. And I think everybody is seeing the type of player that Chase Young is capable of being, but it's because of what he has done in the dark."
Jordan, too, has had a hand in his development.
"I don't know if I'm a leader or not," Jordan said. "I know who I am as a person. I've never had to change or be something that I'm not. He has embraced our culture, for sure. If anything, he has accepted the challenge of getting better and he understands what it is to be able to play each and every snap. He's been a great addition to the team and you've seen how he has taken off this year. I love when he has that kind of success."
The question never was whether Young had the ability. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 Draft earned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors after totaling 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries (one returned for a touchdown), 10 tackles for loss and 12 quarterback hits.
The question was whether injuries and inconsistency would be his story.
Davis and Jordan have made sure that wouldn't be the case for Young, who had 5.5 sacks and a career high 21 quarterback hits last season. Seeing excellence achieved and sustained has been beneficial.
"Being disciplined for 15 years? That's hard to do, man," Young said. "You've got to take your hat off to those dudes. I know a couple of my big cousins are 36, and they can't do nothin. You feel me? Double D is still hitting the fastest times out of all the linebackers. (Jordan) is gold jacket (Pro Football Hall of Fame). We know that. But the thing about is, he was gold jacket three years ago. To see him still every day, just little things — showing up to every defensive dinner, every D-line dinner, first in meetings still, to this day. I'm glad that I could be around that and be exposed to that.
"If it wasn't God that put me here, then I don't know who did. I'm just blessed to be around those guys. Those are legendary guys, forever, especially in my book and everybody in this locker room."
He wants to be around it, and maybe leading it, for years to come.
"I want to be a Saint forever," Young said. "I feel like I have definitely have found my home. You feel the love from this organization. My first year in Washington, I never saw the owner. It was different. I never saw our (general manager). I come here and they're on field at practice, talking about this, talking about that. This is a real family-oriented vibe. I'm definitely happy where I am."
