The Jacksonville Jaguars will more than likely move Pro Bowl defensive end Yannick Ngakoue some time before the 2020 NFL Draft in a few weeks.
Jacksonville placed the franchise tag on Ngakoue earlier this month with the sole purpose of trading the defender. In turn, the 25-year-old Ngakoue has made it clear he does not want to return to Duval.
According to this report from Mike Garafolo of NFL Media, Jacksonville has had talks with multiple teams about one of the best young edge rushers in the league. The team views him as an asset and is not going to give Ngakoue away for free.
Having already traded multiple veterans this offseason, Ngakoue would likely net Jacksonville the best return. He’s just now hitting his prime and has recorded an eye-opening 85 quarterback hits and 37.5 sacks in just four NFL seasons.
The Seattle Seahawks have been bandied about as a potential landing spot for Ngakoue. They do have an additional second-round pick stemming from the Frank Clark trade last spring. Whether that would be enough to land Ngakoue remains to be seen.
What we do know is that any team acquiring Ngakoue would likely then have to make him one of the highest-paid edge defenders in the game.