Report: Jets are Pursuing a Trade for Yannick Ngakoue
An offseason where the New York Jets have pragmatically built depth might be close to getting a little star power. Yannick Ngakoue could be headed to the Jets, according to reports.
One of the better pass rushers in the league over the past several seasons, Ngakoue would instantly upgrade a Jets pass rush that was anemic a season ago. The Athletic's Michael Lombardi tweeted that he heard the Jets are pursuing a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the star edge rusher.
The reported asking price from the Jaguars is a second-round pick.
This offseason, the only prominent addition to the pass rush was Jabari Zuniga, a Day 2 pick out of Florida. Ngakoue would instantly address those issues.
A Pro Bowl selection in 2017 when he had 12 sacks and 23 quarterback hits, Ngakoue followed that up in 2018 with 9.5 sacks and 33 quarterback hits. Last year saw a more concerning decline with eight sacks and 15 quarterback hits, but he is still among the best pass rushers in the NFL.
None of New York's linemen came close to Ngakoue's production last season. Linebacker Jordan Jenkins led the Jets with eight sacks and 13 quarterback hits, followed by safety Jamal Adams, who had 6.5 sacks.
Ngakoue would add a bit of firepower to a Jets defense that traded Adams in late July to the Seattle Seahawks and saw All-Pro linebacker C.J. Mosley opt out of the season.
