The Panthers pass rush improved a great deal last season. In the end, the team finished with 53 sacks, second most in the league behind the Steelers. However, several key players up front are set to become free agents, including starting EDGE defenders Mario Addison and Bruce Irvin.
Finding another young OLB/DE to pair with Brian Burns for the long run should be on the team’s to-do list this offseason. In that spirit, our next potential 2020 free agent target profile is Yannick Ngakoue.
Career stats
After playing college ball at Maryland, the Jaguars picked Ngakoue in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft. He’s posted some eye-popping numbers in the four years since, including 37.5 sacks, 85 quarterback hits, 42 tackles for a loss, 14 forced fumbles, two interceptions, nine pass breakups and a defensive touchdown. He made the Pro Bowl in 2017.
Pros
Ngakoue (6-foot-2, 246 pounds) is about as disruptive as defensive linemen come. His ability to wreak havoc in opposing backfields makes him arguably the top free agent EDGE in his class. The numbers he’s posted since coming into the league are truly freakish and he’s only 24 years old. He’s also missed only one game since he was drafted.
Cons
Like Jadeveon Clowney and every other star pass rusher out there, Ngakoue is likely going to be out of Carolina’s price range. Jacksonville should re-sign or franchise tag him. If they don’t, then teams like the Giants, Falcons and Bills might all be in the mix trying to sign him. Adding Ngakoue would no doubt improve the front seven, but it might also affect their ability to field a more complete roster.
Probability: Low
It would be a coup if the Panthers are somehow able to sign Ngakoue. However, they’ll need to free up a lot more cap space for that to be a feasible scenario. At the moment, they only have around $32 million to play with and they have to re-sign several critical free agents of their own.
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