Yannick Ngakoue propels Minnesota Vikings defense back to elite level

Yannick Ngakoue joining the Minnesota Viking propels them back to an elite level.

With less than two weeks to go until the start of the 2020 NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings have already made a notable addition heading into the new year. On Sunday, about a week and a half before the season-opening game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the Vikings acquired young Pro Bowl defensive end Yannick Ngakoue in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars, per multiple reports

In return for Ngakoue, Minnesota will be sending Jacksonville a second-round draft pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and a conditional fifth-round draft pick in 2022. That fifth-round pick could turn into a fourth-round pick if Ngakoue goes to the Pro Bowl in 2020 and would improve to as high as a third-round pick if he is able to reach the Pro Bowl and the Vikings win the Super Bowl this year.

The addition of Ngakoue immediately boosts the defensive line in Minnesota, this coming after an offseason where the Vikings saw a handful of notable players depart via free agency.

Ngakoue joins the front line of Minnesota’s defense while replacing Everson Griffen, who signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent this offseason. Ngakoue will be a scary duo to pair with new teammate Danielle Hunter on the other end of the defensive line for the purple and gold.

Ngakoue, who turned 25 years old in March, finished up just his fourth season in the NFL and with the Jaguars in 2019 and could be a long-term addition to the Vikings for more than just this year. In 2019, Ngakoue appeared in 15 games for Jacksonville, tallying a career-best 41 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 15 quarterback hits, eight sacks, four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception and one defensive touchdown.

Not only will the addition of Ngakoue held the defensive line in Minnesota, but this trade also moves the Vikings defense back up to the elite level that we’ve seen them at more often than not since Mike Zimmer took over as head coach in 2014.

As mentioned earlier, Ngakoue and Hunter will be a feared duo on the line for Minnesota and one that could cause opposing quarterbacks headaches week-in and week-out. But that duo also adds to the top-notch group the Vikings already have on that side of the field, now at pass rusher, linebacker and safety.

For Minnesota, this move made just too much sense not to make, especially given what it ultimately sent back to Jacksonville in the trade. It also proves that the Vikings are serious about making a run at an NFC North title to not only return to the postseason once again but hopefully make a deep run in the playoffs beyond the NFC Division Round like in 2019.

Ngakoue was already holding out in Jacksonville while not happy with his current situation with the Jaguars, so he was searching for a new home. Now with that new home being in Minnesota for at least this year, he could be a solid piece to the Vikings defense moving forward and also propels them back to the elite level on the doorstep of the new season in September.