Pro Football Focus predicts the Buffalo Bills as the landing spot for defensive end Yannick Ngakoue.
The Buffalo Bills have a need on the edge this offseason with Shaq Lawson hitting free agency and questions if Trent Murphy could return. They should be aggressive this offseason and Pro Football Focus believe Yannick Ngakoue will find a new home with the Bills.
"26. EDGE YANNICK NGAKOUE – BUFFALO BILLSProjected contract: 4 years, $19.5 million per year ($57 million guaranteed)Considering the Jaguars are currently over the cap, seeing Yannick Ngakoue on another squad in 2020 seems likely. Things could change with cuts, but for now, Buffalo, which owns the third-most cap space, would be the likeliest landing spot for Ngakoue. With Shaq Lawson set to hit free agency and Lorenzo Alexander retiring, Buffalo has nearly half of its total edge pressures to replace this offseason. Ngakoue has produced top-20 pass-rush grades in each of the past three seasons and could play the 6/7-tech role Lawson played."
Ngakoue has been a fan favorite for the Bills and he certainly checks all the boxes for what this team needs. He has been very productive for the Jaguars with 37.5 sacks over four seasons and he has also been consistent with at least eight sacks each year. He also has already been selected to the Pro Bowl once, which came in 2017 after he had 12 sacks.
More importantly he is a long term answer at the position at only 24 years of age. He would immediately become the Bills best pass rusher and make a top defense from last season even better.
If the Bills sign Ngakoue then the focus would shift to adding depth with maybe a veteran or cost effective player like 49ers Ronald Blair.
While the Bills have the cap space to break the bank on Ngakoue, the biggest hurdle may be the Jaguars themselves. While they are currently not in a good position cap wise, they could make some cuts that frees up at least enough cap space to use the franchise tag.
If they do that, the Bills could try to work out a trade but that gets complicated because not only do they need to agree to compensation with the Jaguars but also need to negotiate a new deal with Ngakoue.
There is no question that Yannick Ngakoue would be a perfect fit for the Buffalo Bills but there is a number of questions that will need to be answered between now and the start of free agency.