With a new coach in town, the Seattle Seahawks have a simple answer to this question: Who should they pursue for the perfect move to fill out their roster before the 2024 training camp?
The answer: Edge rusher. The reason? New head coach Mike Macdonald is considered a defensive guru. The Seahawks' defense needs to shine right off the bat.
And what makes a defense struggle more than any other thing? The lack of a pass rush. And getting more in that department means bringing in free agent Yannick Ngakoue. He's an eight-year veteran with 69 career sacks, including two double-digit seasons.
What makes DE Yannick Ngakoue the right man for Seahawks?
The 6-foot-2, 246-pound Ngakoue is coming off a so-so season with the Bears. He totaled only four sacks in 13 games. But he had 10 and 9.5 in the previous two years with the Raiders and Colts, respectively.
Last year's performance does two things that make Ngakoue more valuable to an NFL team. He's less expensive and he told nfl.com he's still hungry.
“Honestly, I haven't really been thinking about an offer or details in specific at all,” Ngakoue said . “The only thing I've been thinking about is taking that grass again and re-establishing myself on the field as one of the fiercest competitors in the game today.
“That's the only thing on my mind. Everything else will come after that. I have to re-establish myself and remind people of why I'm one of the best (pass) rushers. That's the only thing on my mind.”
Getting a deal done soon is part of the equation. Ngakoue said he struggled last season because he joined the Bears so late in the preseason.
“It's just like a boxer at the end of the day,” Ngakoue said. “If you don't have a proper training camp, you can go into the ring and get knocked out. So it's all about preparation.”
But regardless of what happens when, Ngakoue said he's in a good place.
“I feel like everything's going to work out just perfectly,” he said. “Like I said, everything happens for a reason. God is a perfect planner, and the end of the day, I'm just focused on myself, just focused on how can I get better, focusing on things that I could have done better last year.”
Macdonald's defense needs a player like Ngakoue
Have sacks, will travel. That has become the 29-year-old Ngakoue's game. He has played for five teams in the last four years, chasing QBs for the Vikings and Ravens in 2020.
The attitude of being about to make a defensive splash no matter the jersey would work well with Macdonald's scheme. The Ravens' beastly approach made history in 2023. Mcdonald's defense became the first team to lead the league in points allowed per game, sacks, and takeaways.
His approach allows for interchangeable parts, and he mixes fronts and pressures. So a player with Ngakoue's skills would have the freedom to create offensive disruption.
Another thing that would help a player like Ngakoue is Macdonald's simulated pressures. By using Ngakoue as a rotational piece on the defensive line, Macdonald would create offensive uncertainty about who is rushing. And any time the offense is unsure, it can't be as aggressive. And veteran defensive players love it when the offense can't anchor into what it wants to do.
Dre'Mont Jones and Leonard Williams give the Seahawks a nice one-two punch in the starting lineup. Both of those players would benefit by strengthening the defensive rotation.
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