The nightmare is finally over. Yannick Ngakoue has expressed for a long time that he wants out of Jacksonville. Today, he finally got his wish. Jacksonville has traded their star defensive end to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for draft pick compensation.
Adam Schefter of ESPN was the first the report the news:
The Raiders were one team that was reported to be in the mix for his services. Adam Ramirez smartly pointed out that trade was never going to happen. Let’s see here. Trade Khalil Mack for picks and turn around and give them right back for a worse version with Ngakoue. Never made sense.
The Jags collect a 2nd and conditional 5th round pick. Jacksonville is in a total rebuild and is loading up as many picks as possible for the future. That conditional pick really can only go up to a 4th round pick. That happens if Ngakoue makes the Pro Bowl which is possible. It turns into a third if the Vikings win the Super Bowl and that shits not happening.
For Minnesota, I get the trade. I don’t love giving up picks when your quarterback is Kirk Cousins and you can’t win the Super Bowl. I do get it. Everson Griffin is gone and they really haven’t replaced him. Ngakoue and Danielle Hunter can do some real damage on the edge next year. Those two combined for 14.5 sacks a year ago.
Worst case scenario, Ngakoue leaves in free agency and the Vikings collect a 3rd round comp pick the following year. It’s a gamble the Vikings were willing to take to keep their strong defense in tact.
