Getty The New York Giants should add a 65-sack free agent to their "platoon" of pass-rushers.
Pass-rushers are something New York Giants’ defensive coordinator Don ‘Wink’ Martindale likes to collect, so why don’t Big Blue add one with an impressive track record in the waning days of free agency?
Yannick Ngakoue is still on the market, despite boasting 65 career sacks. The former Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens, Las Vegas Raiders and Indianapolis Colts is a perfect fit for the Giants, according to Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus.
Spielberger believes Ngakoue “makes perfect sense in a defensive line unit under defensive coordinator Wink Martindale that is all about rotating linemen in a platoon approach.”
The “platoon approach” can help keep Martindale’s primary edge-rushers, Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux, fresh, according to Spielberger. It’s a sound argument, and the Giants adding a veteran pass-rusher for depth is becoming a familiar idea ahead of training camp.
Melvin Ingram III has also been mooted as a possible signing, but Ngakoue may offer more upside.
Giants Perfect Place for Veteran to Revive His Career
As Spielberger pointed out, Ngakoue wasn’t at his best with the Colts in 2022, despite logging 9.5 sacks. Fortunately, consistency used to be a hallmark of Ngakoue’s game, with Spielberger also mentioning how the veteran’s “registered at least eight sacks in every season of his seven-year career and was a more menacing pass rusher on a per-snap basis from 2017 to 2021.”
There were shades of the old Ngakoue when he got to Kenny Pickett twice against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12. One of those sacks was highlighted by Aaron Day of DLineVids, who detailed how 6-foot-2, 246-pound Ngakoue used a bull rush to overcome an obvious size mismatch.
Yannick Ngakoue goes speed to power & walks a blocker that outweighs him by 50+ lbs back to QB depth for the sack.
@YannickNgakoue had 9.5 sacks for the Colts last season. Has the cross chop to go along with his speed/power!
Being able to win with power is just one part of a skilled pass-rusher’s repertoire. Ngakoue is also flexible enough to win with speed and intelligent use of hands.
Giants’ quarterback Daniel Jones found out about Ngakoue’s quickness and technique the hard way when the then-Raiders pass-rusher registered a strip-sack of No. 8 in 2021, another takedown highlighted by Day.
Ngakoue’s versatility and productivity would find a natural home with the Giants, where Martindale’s unit blitzed at a league-high 39.7 percent last season, according to Pro Football Reference.
Martindale would turn Ngakoue loose from a variety of sub-package schemes and pressure fronts. While Ngakoue may initially operate in a situational role, the 28-year-old is six years younger than Ingram and is accomplished enough to play his way into more snaps.
Either way, Ngakoue would wreck offensive lines with greater frequency than some of the Giants’ other edge defenders.
Depth Remains an Issue on the Edges of Front 7
Martindale knows he can rely on Ojulari and Thibodeaux to generate heat, provided both can stay healthy. It’s been a challenge for the former, who missed 10 games due to a calf problem that landed him on injured reserve last season.
As for Thibodeaux, the player taken fifth overall in the 2022 NFL draft overcame a preseason knee injury to flash signs of dominance as a rookie. Now, franchise greats like all-time sack leader Michael Strahan are touting Thibodeaux for greatness.
He’ll have a better chance of meeting those expectations with a proven pass-rusher available to take blockers away from him. Ngakoue fits the bill better than returning duo Jihad Ward and Oshane Ximines, who combined for a mere five sacks last season.
Ward and Ximines share a position group with second-year pro Tomon Fox and rookie free agent Habakkuk Baldonado. It’s not a quartet likely to strike fear into the hearts of opposing offensive linemen the way Ngakoue has done since entering the league in 2016.
He told SiriusXM NFL Radio how he’s looking for “a stable home and just to be able to be on a multi-year deal.”
“I definitely want to play for a contender, play for a team and organization that wants to win a Super Bowl.”
FA DE @YannickNgakoue discussed the free agency process and how he would love a multi-year deal.
The Giants would be unlikely to offer long-term security this year, not with just $4,184,387 left under the salary cap. Yet, a prolific one-year spell would boost Ngakoue’s chances of earning a lengthier contract next offseason.
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Giants Urged to Sign 65-Sack Free Agent for ‘Platoon Approach’