Ranking the 10 best NFL trades from a wild, crazy 2022 offseason

NFL trade no. 8: Yannick Ngakoue to the Indianapolis Colts

One of the trades that is flying under the radar across the NFL this whole offseason in general is the Yannick Ngakoue trade.

The Raiders traded Ngakoue to the Colts almost simultaneously as they brought in free agent pass rusher Chandler Jones.

It’s easy to love the Chandler Jones move for the Raiders, as well as the fact that this trade of Ngakoue helped them address a major area of need. The Raiders got cornerback Rock Ya-Sin back in the trade from the Colts, but they paid a pretty penny to get him.

Although statistics almost never tell the whole story, Ngakoue is coming off of one of the best seasons of his NFL career so far.

Last year with the Raiders, he had 10 total sacks, 23 quarterback hits, and 36 pressures. The 36 pressures were the most since his rookie season in Jacksonville.

The Indianapolis Colts have made a number of big moves to fortify their defensive front in recent years. They took Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo with their top two picks in last year’s draft and they added DeForest Buckner in a blockbuster trade with the 49ers in 2020.

That trade still makes no sense.

Now, they’ve added Ngakoue to that unit to provide consistent pressure off the edge and give the Colts’ defense another potential “closer” in the pass rush department.

Late in games, Ngakoue is the type of player that can make a play in the pass rush that could alter the outcome.