Yannick Ngakoue

The Saints pass rush was sleep at the wheel in the playoffs against Kirk Cousins. They sacked the Vikings quarterback just twice on his 33 dropbacks and landed only five hits, failing to pressure him with any consistency. The Vikings went 10-for-18 on third downs, emblematic of New Orleans’ problems in getting after the passer late in the season.

Some of that can be chalked up to injuries, with starting defensive end Marcus Davenport and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins sidelined earlier in the year. While it’s great that the Saints found some contributors among undrafted college free agents (like Shy Tuttle, Carl Granderson, and Taylor Stallworth), none of them should be on the field when the season’s on the line.

Enter Ngakoue, the Jacksonville Jaguars sack artist who Tom Coughlin alienated before he was fired. Ngakoue finished the 2019 season with 8.0 sacks and 15 hits, tying the career-low set in his 2016 rookie year. For context, those numbers would rank second-best in New Orleans behind Cameron Jordan, who led the way in sacks (15.5) and hits (25).

Ngakoue is durable; he’s played in 63 of 64 potential games (3,029 total snaps) in his four-year career, racking up 37.5 sacks and 85 hits along the way. But the way he wins is what’s enticing for the Saints. He’s a fleet-footed pass rusher who flies off the edge with his hair on fire, bending beneath blockers’ arms and turning the edge before they can even get set. The closest thing the Saints have to that is Trey Hendrickson, who has turned in fine but unspectacular play as a backup. There’s no mistaking the two of them.

The downside is that Ngakoue will be in for a big payday. Big in the sense of $17 million or so per year. There are few players with as many hides on the wall as him at his age (he’ll turn 25 in March), so if he plays his cards right, he can cash in repeatedly during the prime of his career. Maybe the Saints can bring him in on a three-year deal, which would position him for another huge free agent contract before he turns 28.

The Risk: What kind of message would it send to pay a newcomer over your defensive leader? Jordan signed a contract extension last season that averages $14.9 million per year, which would be dwarfed by any deal with Ngakoue. The good news is that the Saints have otherwise invested minimal salary cap charges along the defensive line; Rankins is playing on his fully-guaranteed fifth-year option of $7.69 million, and the only other significant contract went to nose tackle Malcom Brown, who is due $6 million in 2020. Structured carefully, an Ngakoue deal could avoid piling up on many other payouts.

The Reward: Ngakoue could be the missing piece to a Saints pass-rush unit that turned in one of the highest sack totals in team history last year. They’re so close to being a consistently great unit, but it needs someone with Ngakoue’s skills set to win specific matchups. They don’t have anyone who can crash down on a quarterback in 2.5 seconds after the snap, which he can do with regularity.

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