The Jets’ lack of a top-tier pass rusher has led to many observers connecting the dots between Gang Green and players like Yannick Ngakoue and Jadeveon Clowney this offseason. But we heard earlier this month that the club has no interest in Clowney, and Rich Cimini of ESPN.com says the Jets feel the same way about Ngakoue.
That jibes with what Cimini reported back in March, but as the Jets have since acquired multiple first-round picks while failing to address their pass-rushing needs, it seemed that there was a possibility that the club could still make a move for Ngakoue, whose disenchantment with the Jaguars has been well-publicized. And, since several Power 5 conferences have pushed their seasons to the spring — while the remaining conferences could still follow suit — New York’s 2021 first-round selections may not be quite as valuable as they normally would be.
Still, Cimini says GM Joe Douglas views his four first-round picks from 2021-22 to be vital to the club’s rebuild, and he would be loathe to part with them. On the other hand, the ESPN scribe says Ravens’ edge defender Matt Judon could pique Douglas’ interest.
Indeed, Douglas, a former Ravens scout, has made a habit of acquiring former Baltimore talent, and Cimini classifies Judon as a better player than Ngakoue — which could be up for debate — who would fit nicely in the Jets’ 3-4 front. Judon and the Ravens did not reach an extension prior to the July 15 deadline, so he will play out the 2020 season on his franchise tag.
But unlike Ngakoue’s animosity towards Jacksonville, Judon harbors no ill-will towards the Ravens. And Baltimore, a championship contender, does not have much by way of proven depth in the pass-rushing department either, so it would be surprising to see the team jettison Judon, even if it could get a first-rounder in return.
Would this classify as pro football non trade non rumors?
Technically you’re not wrong
I don’t think Judon getting flipped for a first rounder is as unlikely as one may think. The Ravens will need to pay Humphrey, Stanley, Andrews, and eventually Lamar. Each of those players play a more prominent role for the team than Judon, talented as he may be.
Baltimore could then replace Judon with a cheap first round pick acquired through the deal in a similar fashion to the 49ers drafting Kinlaw after trading Buckner
He would be a better fit than Ngakoue. Judon has played his NFL career as a standup linebacker in the Ravens’ base defense, whereas Ngakoue is a hand-in-the-dirt end. Ngakoue would fit more traditional 4-3 fronts as a pass rushing specialist in my mind. I don’t see him diagnosing and defending run plays rather than attacking the QB on passing downs.
Would love to see Judon go for a first or second and sign Clowney as a high priced, one year stopgap. He wouldn’t do that for the Browns, but the Ravens aren’t a trainwreck. This scenario would be the ultimate win for the Ravens.
Jacksonville needs to find a way to trade Yannick for some defensive line help. Two of our free agent signings, Rodney Gunter (retired) and Al Woods (opted out) will not play for us this year. I would imagine that we could get a big body or two for Yannick.
Yeah, I’m not sure of the logic in retaining a disgruntled player who clearly will not give 100% to your team when he could be traded for a lucrative deal. Now, granted, you don’t want to reward players for sitting out on their deals, but Ngakoue is not signed to a long term deal and the Jaguars are not trying to punish him necessarily. Caldwell wants a big time deal to send him out but teams also realize that they’ll have to sign Ngakoue long term or risk losing whatever they send to Jacksonville for one year of Ngakoue’s play. And given that Ngakoue wants a $20 million or so deal in all likelihood (something that would be top of the market), teams are wondering if he will remain productive for that long or if he will take that next step at all to be worth it-not as one of the better pass rushers in the league, but one of the best.
Ngakoue has recently said that he’d play on the tag outside of Jacksonville, but multiple high picks and an eventual huge deal will make a trade less likely. Teams will just wait on his tag to expire next year or Jacksonville to give up on tagging him. They’ll either see proof that Ngakoue can be consistent this year in Jacksonville, or get him cheaper because he either did not play or did play well. In any case, he won’t cost them picks.
You don’t think they could get one or possibly two defensive lineman for Yannick? He isn’t good against the run and we lost Gunter and Woods. A desperate team searching for a pass rusher wouldn’t make that trade?
Teams might be desperate for a pass rusher, but this is a trade done with significant impact on a team’s future. Caldwell wants high end picks for Ngakoue, which necessitates the team signing him to shell out top end money to make the trade worth it, ala Laremy Tunsil or the Jags’ own Jalen Ramsay.
The Rams have been colossally stupid (there’s no nice way of putting it) for the last few years under Les Snead and have waved both money and picks around frivolously, but they’re closer to the exception than the rule. As such, they’re limited on capital with which to bring Ngakoue over, and seem to be accepting the staunch reality of a rebuild soon due to their offseason spendfests the last couple of years. Houston is also out of picks to send, and BoB has a habit of seeking out specific players based on his personal feelings more than their respective skill sets, which I am not sure he has for Ngakoue (sitting out or being unhappy with a contract does not strike me as a way to climb BoB’s Christmas list). Chicago already did this trade for Khalil Mack with little noticeable result in their win totals. Those are the only three teams recently who have traded at least one first round pick for a player with one year on his deal, and none of those trades have been proven worth it yet-and each of the players involved were more valuable than Ngakoue currently is.
I’m not saying this to insult anybody at all, I just want to illustrate that it is very unlikely that a team gives up significant assets for Ngakoue with the knowledge that he will demand a big contract. Run stuffing DEs are more common at the end of the day than first round picks, and if choosing between the two, Caldwell is going with the picks and cap room. He had a chance to pursue free agent help on that front (Reader, Phillips, or Clowney) and actually dealt AWAY his best run stuffer to Baltimore. I know that was before losing Gunter and Woods, but I think Caldwell is okay with being less competitive today to be more competitive tomorrow, judging by his actions. If he has to, he’ll sign someone off the street, rather than give up his chance to nab some more high picks.
Now Lynch, another DE from our line has retired. I thought Kahn wanted this team to be competitive, but with all of these losses to our defensive line how can we realistically stop the run and win ball games? I’m kinda getting desperate here, but do we now bring in Clowney? Can our new offense under Gruden put up a significant amount of points to where we can just have a “middle of the road” defense and out score other teams? It’s just a hard pill to swallow seeing all of this happen to our defensive line, especially when we couldn’t stop the run last year.
I think Caldwell is betting on next season. With COVID being what it is, it’s likely that this is an evaluation year for many of the current players on the roster so he can know who he needs to replace in the offseason.
Given that Josh Allen is now the top passing threat in their division, the Jets need for a premier pass rusher isn’t as great as it was before.
That’s one way at looking at it that I hadn’t considered.
Just curious what the Jets think they DO need; or do they think they’re a playoff team as is?
Not to imply that a standout pass rusher leap frogs them to that mythical “next level”; but improvement anywhere is still improvement
Jets have it right. They need edge rushing, but they need it pursuant to every down long term pieces. They don’t need to pay a designated edge rusher that doesn’t otherwise fit their defense.
So, Judan, YES, if the price is right (contract and trade consideration). Clowney and Ngakoue, NO.