Jaguars’ DE Yannick Ngakoue Responds to Production Concerns: ‘More Points More Opportunities’

Jaguars' defensive end Yannick Ngakoue doesn't have elite production, but he took to social media to give his reasoning for why.

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue has made it clear he wants to play elsewhere moving forward, but there is always the chance of other teams having concerns with the 24-year old's track record.

Ngakoue has recorded 37.5 sacks and 14 forced fumbles since being drafted by the Jaguars in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, which is an average of more than nine sacks per season. While he has never recorded fewer than eight sacks in a season, he also only has one season in which he has notched double-digit sacks (12 sacks in 2017).

Due to the lack of eye-popping sack numbers, some in the football community have labeled Ngakoue as a risky add for any team that hopes to pry him away from Jacksonville. In an article by Pro Football Focus that examined the risks of this year's pass-rushing free agency class, Ngakoue was named as one player that teams should feel buyers beware about.

"Firstly, the season that showed his elite potential as a pass-rusher was 2017, and he hasn’t really come close to those heights since," PFF wrote. "That year, he had an 88.2 PFF pass-rushing grade and notched 82 total pressures including the playoffs. Since then, he hasn’t been within 10 grading points of that high mark and has registered pressure at a much lower rate."

Ngakoue took to Twitter to respond to this critique on Wednesday, claiming that his lack of sack numbers is due to a lack of pass-rushing opportunities due to the Jaguars' lack of leads in games in recent years. 

"More points more opportunities. Art of Football," Ngakoue wrote.

In theory, this makes some sense. The fewer points the Jaguars' offense scores, the fewer leads they have. The fewer leads they have, the less often teams are going to throw the ball to catch up on the scoreboard, taking away pass-rush opportunities from Ngakoue and others.

In Ngakoue's best season in 2017, the Jaguars were sixth in the NFL in points per game with 25.9. In 2018, a year in which Ngakoue recorded 9.5 sacks, the Jaguars were 31st in points per game with 15.3. And last year, when Ngakoue recorded eight sacks, the Jaguars were 26th in points per game with 18.8. 

So the notion that the Jaguars have scored fewer points and have had fewer leads in recent years stands true. But have the Jaguars' defense and Ngakoue saw more runs and fewer pass attempts the last two years?

Average run attempts per game by opponents

• 2017: 26.2 (22nd-most in NFL).
• 2018: 27.2 (12th-most in NFL).
• 2019: 27.2 (11th-most in NFL).

Average pass attempts per game by opponents

• 2017: 34.0 (tied for 20th-most in NFL).
• 2018: 31.2 (29th-most in NFL).
• 2019: 32.3 (28th-most in NFL).

So, Ngakoue's claim that he has had fewer opportunities to get after the quarterback in recent years checks out. It also correlates with the fact that the Jaguars have scored fewer points each year than they did in 2017. 

If Ngakoue will be worth the large contract and trade capital it will take to acquire him from the Jaguars is a question nobody knows. He has flashed elite ability in the past, but the lack of elite production is there nonetheless. Landing on a team with a better offense could help him get to the quarterback more, but that is true for any defensive lineman.