The Baltimore Ravens pulled off a blockbuster trade, seemingly out of nowhere, when they acquired former Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. Initial reactions are that this is a huge trade for the Ravens. But when looking at all the details and what Baltimore really got, they’re the big winners of the trade.
The Vikings had traded for Ngakoue just a few weeks ago, sending a second-round pick and conditional fifth-round pick to the Jaguars to make it happen. Only a few games later and Baltimore paid significantly less to put him in a different purple jersey, paying just a third-round and conditional fifth-round pick for Ngakoue’s services. Amazingly, this is shortly after general manager Eric DeCosta was able to fleece Minnesota for a fifth-round pick for a backup kicker last year, who the Vikings ended up cutting before he played a regular-season snap for them.
In return for the two mid-round picks, the Ravens got one of the most productive pass rushers in the league. Over his four previous seasons, Ngakoue was responsible for 37.5 sacks and 85 quarterback hits, averaging just over nine sacks and 21 quarterback hits a season. According to Pro Football Focus, Ngakoue has the fourth-most quarterback hits among all edge rushers over those four seasons. In just six games this season, Ngakoue has already sacked quarterbacks five times. Those five sacks are the most of any Ravens player so far this season.
But Ngakoue’s value to Baltimore isn’t just getting after the quarterback. Adding Ngakoue to a defensive line that includes former teammate Calais Campbell should allow the Ravens to get just as much pressure on quarterbacks with a four-man rush as they were getting with exotic and aggressive blitzes. That’s not to say defensive coordinator Don Martindale won’t continue to send blitzes at his opponents, but it gives Baltimore the flexibility in its defensive scheme to not have to. Ultimately, that means defensive backs won’t be left on an island in coverage, which will hopefully protect the secondary a little more from the likes of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. It’s not an overstatement to say the addition of Ngakoue will make the entire defense better.
We’re probably all thinking it at this point but it’s worth putting down on the screen for posterity’s sake . . . DeCosta is brilliant. He’s shown aggressiveness where his predecessor, Ozzie Newsome, might have held more restraint. And yet, with it comes the savviness that we’ve come to expect from the Ravens’ organization since its inception. It has some believing Baltimore’s front office is among the best in the business.
Right now the Ravens are one of the best run orgs not just in the NFL, but in all of sports.
— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) October 22, 2020
Yet, even with such a blockbuster trade that has Ravens fans as pumped as they’ve been all year long, DeCosta hinted at more to come. In his statement following the trade for Ngakoue, DeCosta said, “Finally, we are not finished building this team, as we continue to chase our ultimate goals.”
With the success of the Marcus Peters trade last season and now this move for another premiere defensive player in Ngakoue, Baltimore continues to signal its intent on another Super Bowl birth, no matter what.
Full speed ahead.
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