NY Jets: 3 trade packages for pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue

The NY Jets have expressed interest in trading for pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue. Here are the top three trade packages to bring him in.

The NY Jets have been on the prowl searching for a legitimate pass rusher since John Abraham was traded away back in 2006. One of the best in the NFL is available for the right price this offseason.

Jacksonville Jaguars edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue has made his stance clear, he no longer wants to play for the team.

The 24-year old stud was selected with the 69th overall pick in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Maryland. Since Yannick entered the league, he has dominated:

2016: 8 sacks, 14 quarterback hits, 4 forced fumbles, and 23 tackles.

2017: 12 sacks, 23 quarterback hits, 6 forced fumbles, and 30 tackles.

2018: 9.5 sacks, 33 quarterback hits, and 28 tackles.

2019: 8 sacks, 15 quarterback hits, and 41 tackles.

The core of Ngakoue’s frustration with the Jaguars is his contract. Clearly he’s outplayed his rookie deal and now he wants to be compensated.

In his first four years in the league, Yannick has earned a total of $3.8 million. Instead of handing him a long-term extension this offseason the Jaguars slapped the franchise tag on him which pays out over $17 million on a one-year deal.

That hasn’t changed anything and Yannick still hopes he gets traded sooner rather than later. Recently we’ve seen a ton of players “tagged-and-traded” and the NY Jets have already inquired about Ngakoue’s availability.

So we decided to cook up the top three trade proposals the team should send the Jacksonville Jaguars as soon as possible.

Next: 3. Trade package

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We mentioned at the start that several players have recently been “tagged-and-traded” and that sets the market for what it’ll likely cost the NY Jets:

• Seattle Seahawks sent Frank Clark to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for a first-round pick, a future second-round pick, and a swap of third-round picks.
• Kansas City Chiefs traded Dee Ford to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a second-round pick.
• Houston Texans traded Jadeveon Clowney to the Seattle Seahawks for a third-round pick and a couple of role players in Barkevious Mingo and Jacob Martin.

So there’s a bit of a precedent for this sort of thing. Although depending on the situation the package can vary.

One of the big factoids for two of the three deals above is an immediate contract extension. Ford signed a five-year deal for $87.5 million and Clark also signed a five-year deal for $105.5 million.

If the NY Jets acquire Yannick Ngakoue they’ll immediately hand him a fat contract extension making him one of the highest-paid edge rushers in the league.

How much will it be has been quite the point of contention?

Spotrac’s market value projects him as a $17 million per season kind of player on a five-year deal for $85 million. Per ESPN, Ngakoue is looking for a long-term deal that’ll pay him over $22 million per year. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

In this first trade package, the Jets send two Day 2 picks (second and third-rounders) and get Ngakoue back in return.

Next: 2. NYJ gets creative

In the second trade package, we get very creative.

The Jets swap first-round picks with the Jacksonville Jaguars. By dropping from 11 to 20 it’s an estimated value of 400 points on the 2020 NFL Trade Value Chart. The Jags also own the ninth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The NY Jets also will send their original third-round pick in this year’s class and a 2021 fifth-round pick that was originally the NY Giants. Gang Green received that in the Leonard Williams trade.

The word on the street is the Jaguars are hoping to receive a first-round pick in return for Yannick Ngakoue. But since the Jets have a relatively high first-rounder and the Jaguars aren’t in a good leverage position, it doesn’t make sense to give up the No. 11 overall pick.

Ngakoue doesn’t want to play for the team and he’s currently not under contract (has the franchise tag sitting on his desk) so the team can’t fine or suspend him. Which means the Jaguars are in a position where they’re looking to deal him.

So it would behoove Jacksonville to pull the trigger on this deal. The Jets drop in the first round, still within the range of a second-tier offensive tackle or one of the top receiver prospects. Then the two mid-round picks are the cherry on top of this pie.

Next: 1. Player package

Here’s our final trade package for the Jaguars to consider.

Jacksonville gets a premium draft selection (second round) and a couple of players. First off the Jaguars have done literally nothing on the free-agent market as it pertains to their offensive line. So anything would be an upgrade.

So the Jets send veteran guard Brian Winters as part of the deal. He has one year left on his contract for $7.3 million (none of it guaranteed). Winters isn’t the best guard in the league, but he’s serviceable when healthy.

This offseason the Jets have filled a ton of holes with the additions of Alex Lewis and Greg Van Roten on the interior. So Brian Winters is super expendable and the team can save cap space by moving him. Trading him wouldn’t cause any unrest among Jets fans.

The same can’t be said with the other player included in this deal. Folorunso Fatukasi was a late-round gem for the NY Jets in the sixth round, 180th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Foley had a relatively uneventful rookie season but exploded on the scene as a sophomore in 2019. He played in 14 games and recorded 27 tackles, a sack, seven tackles for loss, and three quarterback hits. In addition to his individual stats, the Jets finished as one of the top run-stuffing teams in the league.

Fatukasi is young (25 years old) and is on a cheap deal that has him under contract through 2021. Over the next two years, he’ll make less than $2 million.

The Jaguars lost both Marcell Dareus and Calais Campbell this offseason and replaced them with marginal talents in Rodney Gunter and Al Woods. They’re short term solutions, but the team is still looking for long term answers.

In this case, the Jaguars can fill two needs with a short term band-aid on the offensive line in Winters and then a potential long-term option on the interior of their defensive line in Foley.

This is a very creative trade and honestly, it may take another future mid-round pick to seal the deal with the Jaguars.

Now NY Jets fans may be asking themselves is it worth it?

Ngakoue will be 25 at the end of March and is one of the best pass rushers in the league. Gang Green has an obvious need opposite of Jordan Jenkins at edge rusher. On top of all of that, sometimes you have to risk it to get the biscuit.

In any of these deals, the main component is draft picks. What are draft picks? Lottery tickets. It’s an educated guessing game where you hope to select the right guy and hope he develops in your system.

With Yannick there’s no guessing, you know exactly who and what he is. If the Jets pull the trigger they’ll immediately add a franchise-changing player at one of the three critical positions of need on a team. Why wouldn’t you make this happen?