Yannick Ngakoue has been well-traveled of late. In officially joining the Raiders Friday, he dons his fourth NFL jersey in a year. And this time he feels like he’s found the right spot.
A big reason for Ngakoue choosing the Raiders over other potential suitors is the presence of new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.
Bradley was the head coach in Jacksonville in 2016 when the Jaguars selected Ngakoue in the third round. And that season under Bradley, Ngakoue put up eight sacks.
The following season Bradley was fired and joined the Chargers as defensive coordinator. Now four years later, the player and coach’s careers have brought them back together.
“It was a no-brainer,” Ngakoue said of reuniting with Bradley. “Coach Gus had input in drafting me back in 2016, he knows what I bring to this game, and I feel like that’s a coach that knows how to utilized my skillset to make it super effective to help the team as much as possible. So, with Gus being here I know it’s like another father figure for me, it’s another guy that can help me out when I’m out here on a different coast, so it’s a blessing.”
It was expected that Bradley would have a great deal of input into how the Raiders went about building the defense. That side of the ball has been an issue the past three seasons under former DC Paul Guenther.
Not all of the blame falls on Guenther’s shoulders. It falls on Jon Gruden and his lack of investing in the defensive side of the ball. Ngakoue’s signing is a sign the team is making an effort to change that along with several other additions along the defensive line including Quinton Jefferson and Solomon Thomas.
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