Yannick Ngakoue: Ravens playing chess with checker-playing Vikings
The Baltimore Ravens added Yannick Ngakoue to their already impressive defense.
The Minnesota Vikings made a big trade for Jacksonville Jaguars pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue during the 2020 offseason, only to get six games out of him.
Ngakoue has been traded to the Baltimore Ravens after half-a-dozen games with the Vikings for a 2021 third-round pick and 2022 fifth-round pick.
The Vikings gave up a significantly more valuable piece than that in their initial trade with the Jaguars.
The Vikings’ 2021 second-round pick now belongs to the Jacksonville Jaguars from their original Ngakoue trade, and with the Vikings currently sitting on a 1-5 record, that could wind up becoming a top-five selection in round two.
The Vikings managed to recoup their 2022 fifth-round pick from the Ravens, but dropping from the very early portion of the second round to the very late portion of the third round?
That’s a big yikes.
The Vikings could have kept Ngakoue and just recouped a 2022 compensatory selection after losing him in free agency, so they should be commended for getting at least a 2021 third-round pick and an additional 2022 fifth-round pick back for him, but as usual, it’s the Baltimore Ravens playing chess while everyone else plays checkers.
Within the past year, Ravens GM Eric DeCosta has traded for Yannick Ngakoue, Marcus Peters and Calais Campbell in exchange for a total three fifth-round picks, a third-round pick and back-up LB Kenny Young.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 22, 2020
Those are some huge moves for DeCosta and the Ravens, especially considering they still have their top two picks in the 2021 NFL Draft and will now have their biggest need filled by a very good player entering his prime years in Nkgakoue.
So far in the 2020 season, Ngakoue has racked up five sacks in six games with 11 total pressures and seven quarterback hits.
It obviously hasn’t helped translate to wins for the Vikings, unfortunately, as they are only 1-5 this year and this move seems to indicate a fire sale is happening.
The Vikings no longer have a 2021 second-round pick or Yannick Ngakoue, which is yet another black eye on a season that has already gone very poorly for everyone involved.
2021 mock draft with big QB trades. dark. Next
This Minnesota team, which had legitimate Super Bowl hopes within the past couple of years, could be looking at an offseason with a new head coach search, a new quarterback search, and now a need for a cornerstone defensive piece in 2021.