Which Teams Would Make Sense As Trade Partners for the Jaguars and Yannick Ngakoue?

It seems certain that Yannick Ngakoue won't be on the Jaguars roster in 2020. So, where he could realistically land instead?

Yannick Ngakoue's time with the Jacksonville Jaguars appears to be nearing an end. While Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the Jaguars plan to place the franchise tag on their star pass-rusher, Ngakoue made it clear Monday he sees no future in Jacksonville.

Why not

— Yannick Ngakoue (@YannickNgakoue) March 2, 2020

When a player says what his intentions are, the smartest thing to do is to believe him. This could be a negotiating tactic by Ngakoue, but it is much, much more likely that he has reached his breaking point with the Jaguars and has no plans to play for the team in 2020.

While the Jaguars may not have plans to let Ngakoue walk in free agency on Mar. 18, this far from guarantees Ngakoue is on the roster in Week 1 next season. Instead, it appears the Jaguars and Ngakoue are on a collision course for a tag and trade situation. 

We have seen this happen several times with pass-rushers set to hit the free agency market in recent years. In 2019, the Kansas City Chiefs franchise tagged Dee Ford before trading him to the San Francisco 49ers for a second-round pick. The Chiefs had no intention of keeping Ford under contract, but by using the tag they were able to get a premium pick for his services. 

The Seattle Seahawks were also involved in a few tag and trade situations in 2019. They placed the franchise tag on defensive end Frank Clark in March 2019, but on Apr. 23 he was traded to the Chiefs (along with a third-round pick) for the Chiefs' first- and third-round selections in the 2019 NFL draft and a second-round selection in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Seahawks were then on the receiving end of a tag and trade in August. The Houston Texans had placed the franchise tag on Jadeveon Clowney in March and, like Ngakoue, Clowney made it clear he didn't want to play without a new contract. The Texans then dealt him to the Seahawks in exchange for Jacob Martin, Barkevious Mingo, and a third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

So a clear precedent has been set. When a pass-rusher is franchise tag while disgruntled, it leads to a trade more often times than not as of late. So with this being the likely end game for the Jaguars and Ngakoue, which teams could make sense as a trade partner? We identified a few.

Miami Dolphins

With the most cap space in the NFL (Over $93 million according to Spotrac) and the most draft selections of any team in 2020 with 12 picks, the Miami Dolphins are set up perfectly to make a move for a pass-rusher. Miami's leader in sacks in 2019, Taco Charlton, recorded just five sacks, and no other player recorded more than 3.5. Miami needs a premier edge player badly and they can afford to send the day two pick or picks that a Ngakoue trade would likely command. They are in full rebuild mode and need as many high-caliber players as they can find. Ngakoue makes sense as a schematic fit for Brian Flores, and the Dolphins have the room to make it happen. The Dolphins own the 39th, 56th, and 70th picks on day two of the draft.

New York Giants

The Giants' pass-rush has been missing for the last several seasons, and New York ended 2019 with only 36 sacks (22nd in NFL). With over $73 million in cap space (sixth-most in NFL), the Giants can afford to give Ngakoue the big-money contract he is looking for, which is reportedly a deal that will pay him around #22 million annually, a deal that would make him the highest-paid defensive end in the NFL. General manager Dave Gettleman has been known for his affinity for front seven players in the past, and Ngakoue would give him a top-tier pass-rusher without having to sacrifice a first-round pick. The Giants own the 36th pick on day two this year, but no third-round pick. They could deal 2021 picks for Ngakoue, however, if they threw in their 2020 second-round pick.

Washington Redskins

This would be a homecoming of sorts for Ngakoue, a D.C. native and a University of Maryland alum, but it also makes sense for Washington. New head coach Ron Rivera values athletic, quick-twitched edge rushers (Carolina drafted defensive end Brian Burns in the first round in 2019 while Rivera was head coach), and Washington could automatically have one of the best pass-rushing duos in the NFL with Ngakoue and Chase Young, who the team can potentially select with the second overall pick. Washington's only Day 2 pick is the 66th pick, but they could package a second-round pick in 2021 in a deal. The team also has $62 million in cap space, the ninth-most in the NFL, and could easily strike a long-term deal with Ngakoue.

New York Jets

It feels like the Jets have needed a consistent edge rusher for the last several decades, and they could use the Ngakoue situation as an avenue to fix this long-running issue. They have the cap space to sign Ngakoue to a long-term deal ($56 million) and have a major need on the edge in Gregg Williams' defense. Only two players on the Jets' roster recorded more than three sacks last year: outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins (8 sacks ) and .... safety Jamal Adams (6.5 sacks). When a safety is your second best pass-rusher, changes need to be made. The Jets own the 48th, 68th, and 79th picks on day two of the draft, so they have enough draft capital to make it work as well.