Latest On Yannick Ngakoue

The Jaguars are asking for a “first-round pick and more” in trade talks involving franchise-tagged edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue, sources tell Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. Ngakoue has requested a trade and indicated he is not interested in signing a long-term with Jacksonville, and the Jaguars have reportedly received some level of interest in the 25-year-old.

Ngakoue will collect $17.788MM under the terms of his franchise tender, but he’s apparently looking for more than $20MM annually on a new deal, reports Brady Henderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Currently, only three edge rushers exceed the $20MM threshold: Khalil Mack, Demarcus Lawrence, and Frank Clark.

It remains to be seen if any club is willing to deal a first-round pick and give Ngakoue a massive extension. The Chiefs performed such a maneuver in acquiring Clark from the Seahawks last offseason, but many teams might shy away from sacrificing such draft capital simply for the right to extend Ngakoue. That could be especially true when another edge rusher — Jadeveon Clowney — is still available on the open market and has reportedly lowered his asking price.

Ngakoue, a third-round pick in the 2016 draft, has posted at least eight sacks in four of his NFL campaigns, but other metrics were down on him in 2019. Among edge defenders with at least 50% playtime, Ngakoue finished just 25th in pressures (51), per Pro Football Focus. And data points like ESPN’s pass rush win rate and double-team rate largely painted Ngakoue as an average rusher, as The Athletic’s Ben Baldwin recently noted on Twitter.

View Comments (22)