Yannick Ngakoue is among the NFL’s most dominant pass rushers, and could be on the move to his fourth team in the past two years when NFL free agency begins
Yannick Ngakoue’s 2020 season was a bizarre sojourn through the NFL with stops in Minnesota and Baltimore after being traded from the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Vikings last August, and is now poised to become a sought after pass-rusher as an unrestricted free agent.
“Yannick is a good teammate and a hard worker,” a current NFL coach, who coached Ngakoue with the Jaguars tells FanSided. “He’s a good communicator, and has that ‘want to win’ attitude you look for in the great ones.”
Another of Ngakoue’s former coaches was far more direct about what a team would be getting if they sign the 25-year-old this offseason.
“He practices is ass off every single day,” the coach tells FanSided. “And that’s why he’s so productive.”
Ngakoue played six games for the Vikings in 2020 before being traded to the Ravens in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick and 2022 conditional fifth-round pick. He produced three sacks in Minnesota, five more in Baltimore, and finished the season with 23 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles.
Ngakoue has 45.5 career sacks through the first four years of his career, and last season added 42 quarterback pressures, while receiving a 76.2 pass-rush grade from Pro Football Focus.
In an era where rushing the passer is paramount to success on defense, it wouldn’t be surprising if Ngakoue signs a mega-deal this month.
Here’s a look at five teams that would be ideal fits for Ngakoue, and should try to sign him:
5) Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens traded a third-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings last season to add Ngakoue to their stable of pass-rushers for a late-season Super Bowl push, and while the two sides have yet to reach an agreement on a long-term extension, it would seem Baltimore wants to keep him around.
Upon landing with the Ravens, Ngakoue produced three of his eight sacks last season over 2020’s final nine weeks and seemed to fit right into coordinator Wink Martindale’s aggressive scheme.
Baltimore knows what it has in Ngakoue. Ngakoue showed he can be a Pro Bowl caliber player in Martindale’s system. The Ravens also have over $18 million in cap space, which is plenty of spending flexibility to retain both Ngakoue and Matt Judon, if they so choose.
A reunion is certainly possible, but Ngakoue will have plenty of suitors if the Ravens are unable — or unwilling — to come to terms on a long-term pact.
4) Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins boast an exciting, young, and talented roster with a defensive-minded head coach, in Brian Flores, who has shown an ability to get the most out of his players. He might be the ideal coach to lift Ngakoue’s game to an even higher level.
Last season, the Dolphins narrowly missed out on a trip to the postseason, but the defense produced 41 sacks, the 10th most in the NFL.
It seems the Dolphins are looking to upgrade their pass rush, after releasing linebacker Kyle Van Noy just one year into a four-year contract, in a move that created $9.77 million in cap space while triggering a $4.1 million dead-money charge against the cap. Ahead of the new league year beginning, Miami now has roughly $27 million in cap space, plenty of spending flexibility to add Ngakoue to its front-seven.
3) Indianapolis Colts
The Colts’ aggressiveness this offseason, highlighted by trading for quarterback Carson Wentz, underscores the organization’s commitment to propping open what it believes to be a Super Bowl window.
Indianapolis has plenty of talent on offense, with wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., running back Jonathan Taylor, and tight end Jack Doyle, as well as on defense with the likes of Justin Houston, Denico Autry, and DeForest Buckner up front, but adding Ngakoue to that mix could elevate the Colts’ front-seven to new heights.
Even with all of that talent in the front-seven, the Colts still produced 40 sacks, just the 12th most in the NFL. In an era where rushing the passer matters more than most else on defense, expect this to be an area the Colts go shopping for.
As FanSided previously reported, the Colts hope to re-sign Houston and Autry, but both are expected to see a robust market if they hit free agency. Ngakoue could be an ideal insurance policy if either departs later this month.
Indianapolis is flush with cap space, and offer the chance to chase a Super Bowl ring, which could make the Colts an attractive destination for Ngakoue.
2) Cincinnati Bengals
No team produced fewer sacks than the Bengals’ 17, as Cincinnati managed to generate pressure on just 19 percent of defensive snaps in 2020, an indication that this is an organization primed to spend significant resources on bolstering its pass-rush this offseason.
The Bengals enter the offseason with $37.6 million in cap space, plenty of cash on hand to pluck Ngakoue off the open-market.
In addition to aiming to upgrade its own front-seven, signing Ngakoue could also keep him from returning to the Ravens or even landing with the bitter rival Cleveland Browns, who are set on adding a dominant complement opposite All-Pro Myles Garrett.
Adding Ngakoue to counter stellar quarterback play from the Browns’ Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson would make a lot of sense for Cincinnati, and signing there for top-dollar could make a lot of sense for Ngakoue.
1) New York Jets
Robert Saleh was the Jaguars’ linebacker’s coach the year Jacksonville drafted Ngakoue, and his familiarity with the 25-year-old combined with the Jets’ defensive front could make this an ideal match.
Ngakoue would be a plug-and-play high-impact starter along New York’s wide-nine front and playing alongside former first-round pick Quinnen Williams could create an overwhelming combination for opposing offensive lines, especially against the likes of Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa in the AFC East.
Bolstering the pass-rush must be a top priority, after producing just 31 sacks in 2020, Saleh is going to want to build a defense in his image, similar to the menacing front he left behind in San Francisco.
New York has the glaring need, and the cap space — $75.3 million — to spend that could make this an ideal landing spot for Ngakoue.
Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.