Jacksonville Jaguars EDGE Yannick Ngakoue
One thing the NFL has struggled with when evaluating pass rushers is that sometimes size isn’t everything. Every year they lover look guys like Cameron Wake, Geno Atkins, and even Aaron Donald. That happened with Yannick Ngakoue when he fell to the third round in the 2016 NFL Draft. Fast forward a few years, and he’s one of the best pass rushers in the AFC South. The knock-on him was despite his athleticism and production he wouldn’t be able to hold up in the NFL due to his size. Well, three years into his career he’s wreaked enough havoc to put up 29.5 sacks and 29 TFLs. Ngakoue is one of the best young pass rushers in the league and now he wants to be paid what he’s worth.
Currently, he’s holding out. He’s in the last year of his four-year, $3.48 million rookie deal. Ngakoue has been an absolute steal for the Jaguars playing on that rookie deal. Despite not being a consistent every-down player for the Jaguars, few players have taken down more QBs than Ngakoue since 2016. He wins with an explosive first step, the flexibility to bend the edge, and violent hands. Even though he’s not a great run defender, the price for a pass rusher with Ngakoue’s athleticism and pass rush repertoire is usually steep. When he’s healthy, he’s a consistent double-digit sack pass rusher and every NFL team wants that on their roster.
It’s going to be interesting to see how the Jaguars play the Ngakoue holdout. Without a doubt, the smart move is to pay the man. Having a defensive line rotation of Ngakoue, Calais Campbell, Josh Allen, Marcell Dareus, and Taven Bryan is scary. The issue right now for the Jaguars is cap space. They’re projected to have the second least cap space in 2020 and it’s going to take a lot of work to clear enough space to give Ngakoue a long-term deal. If they can, the deal will be done before the season. If it’s not and Ngakoue hits the open market, he’s going to cash-in and he could stay in the state. The Miami Dolphins have the sixth most projected cap space in 2020 and they’re in desperate need of some pass rush help.
Jaguars 2020 predicated cap space: $-36.91 million
Predicted contract: 5 years, $110 million with Dolphins ($22M AAV)