The general rule is to not overreact to the preseason, but we're going to eschew that for two players in this case: Bryan Bresee and Chase Young look ready to dominate.
It's not entirely unexpected. Both players are first-round picks and have the elite traits to dominate offensive lines, but the way they've put it together this early has been particularly impressive, as the Cajun Cannon explained in his postgame rant.
"These two cats, they’re ready to roll," Hebert said. "They could be part of that I know can make a difference whether we make the playoffs."
Listen to Bobby Hebert's full postgame rant in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
Neither player recorded a sack, but both found themselves in the backfield constantly and disrupted any possible rhythm Brock Purdy could find on a night without a majority of his top playmakers. Young logged a pair of tackles, while Bresee appears to have leapfrogged Khalen Saunders on the defensive tackle depth chart for early downs work. Carl Granderson and Khaleke Hudson each had a sack on the day.
"They’re pinning their ears back and getting it done," Hebert continued. "Bryan Bresee had a quarterback hurry, but you can see him constantly getting penetration."
Related
It wasn't all perfect, though, with Hebert coming in hot with criticism for the players down the defensive end depth chart in Payton Turner and Isaiah Foskey. Both had opportunities to make plays in the backfield but were unable to get the quarterback to the ground. For players who were selected with first and second round picks, respectively, you simply have to expect more.
"I’m really disappointed because that’s on the back end of our rotation like, hey, thank God we got Chase Young to go along with Cam Jordan and Carl Granderson, you know, so I know we’re three deep," Hebert said. "I don’t know beyond that, because I think Turner’s got the ability, but it is tackle football. You’re not like, oh man, I’d have got him. No, it’s not practice. You’ve got to get him down on the ground.”
The Saints have now officially completed their residence in California after 28 days, 18 practices in Irvine and a pair of preseason games. They'll now head back to Louisiana where they're scheduled to host a pair of open practices this week, one at Tulane's Yulman Stadium and the other at the Caesars Superdome, before a home matchup with the Titans in the preseason finale.