Three seasons ago, it appeared as if Carl Granderson was truly figuring out life as an edge rusher in the NFL, having started all 17 games for the New Orleans Saints and collecting a career-high 8½ sacks. He received a four-year contract extension early in the 2023 season for $52 million, and all seemed right.However, his production slipped a bit in 2024 with 17 fewer tackles and three less sacks. Last year, as teammate Chase Young took over as one of the more dominating edge rushers in the league, and Cam Jordan enjoyed a fountain-of-youth resurgence, Granderson was sort of an afterthought.Here we are about to enter his eighth year in the NFL, and it’s tough to gauge what to expect from a player who will turn 30 years old in December. He restructured his contract before this season, but now will enter 2027 with a dead-cap hit of just shy of $21 million.Still with the only team he has ever known, to say this is a key year in his career would be an understatement. Young continues to ascend, while Jordan’s status remains in limbo. The team acquired Tyree Wilson from the Raiders for a fifth-round pick, and the former first-rounder could push Granderson for playing time.Also, the Saints brought in former third-round pick Anfernee Jennings from the Patriots in free agency, although if either Wilson or Jennings take time from Granderson, it would make it much easier to read through the tea leaves.Speaking of reading through tea leaves, let’s take a closer look at our No. 15 Saints player of 2026: Please share your thoughts on our Top 25 Saints Heading Into 2026 by emailing the Saints On SI Publisher and Beat Writer Jim Derry at jim@jimderry.com.Why is Granderson so important?First off, the Saints need stability on the other side of Young. And while Granderson has been there, his numbers have stagnated a bit and even gone down some, as we mentioned in the open.New Orleans Saints edge rushers Chase Young, left, and Carl Granderson will be key as a duo if the team is to improve from a bottom-10 sacks team in 2026. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn ImagesCan he take a step back toward where he was in 2023? Edge rusher isn’t like running back, where when you hit age 30, it often proves as the roadblock in your career and often the end of the line. However, Granderson will have to make his presence known a bit more to take the pressure off Young, especially if Jordan doesn’t return.Last year it was OK to have only six sacks because Jordan’s resurgence and 10-plus sacks. But even if Jordan comes back, it would be silly to imagine he could pull off a number like that once more at age 37.— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025And even with a late-season surge, the Saints finished at the top of the bottom 10 in sacks in the league, which was worse than 2024, which was worse than 2023. If this team is going to keep their offense on the field, it begins with pressures. Granderson needs to get better.Granderson’s strengths and weaknessesOne obvious is strength has been his durability. He hasn’t missed a game since Week 14 of the 2022 season, and he’s only missed five total since his rookie year in 2019.His motor never stops, and he is often able to catch a defender with his long arms. He also has been great at eluding even some of the better opposing offensive linemen, and he is versatile.Trey Benson is a beast but…Look at the speed from #96 Carl Granderson. That’s a 6’5, 270lb edge rusher!!! pic.twitter.com/kyQgTuHzDX— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) September 7, 2025One glaring weakness is something that really isn’t glaring until after one sometimes begins to look at a box score, and that’s the fact you often don’t even remember he’s there. For as many games as he stands out – he had four performances of five tackles or more in the first five games last season – there are as many when he disappears. (There were six games where he had one or zero tackles and no sacks.)He also has struggled at times against the run, and that’s where the Saints have clearly tried to upgrade going into 2026. Recent season statsTwenty of his 34½ career sacks have come the past three seasons, as have 196 of his 299 tackles. He also has 42 QB hits since 2023, although he only had nine last season, with 34 of his 53 total tackles for loss.Eight of his 10 career batted balls have come the past two years. BackgroundGranderson was born Dec. 18, 1996, in Sacramento, Calif., where he later attended Grant Union High School and was ranked as a three-star recruit. He only had offers from three Division I schools and chose Wyoming over Washington State and Boise State.He played four seasons for the Cowboys – 42 games – and collected 35½ tackles for loss and 17½ sacks. He was First-Team Mountain West Conference after his junior season of 2017 and second team in 2018.The rest of the Top 25 so far …25, RET Barion Brown, June 224, DE Bryan Bresee, June 323, DT Davon Godchaux, June 422, S Jonas Sanker, June 521, RB Alvin Kamara, June 620, P Ryan Wright, June 719, LB Pete Werner, June 818, K Charlie Smyth, June 917, CB Quincy Riley, June 1116, RG Cesar Ruiz, June 11Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow