Free agent pass rusher could end up being a huge steal for an NFL team in 2024

Quietly, one of the more consistent pass rushers over the last decade is still on the open market. Could an NFL team end up getting a late-offseason steal with this player? Getting to the quarterback is arguably the second-most important aspect of a successful NFL team. The most important obvious is the QB itself.

Teams are throwing tons of money at pass rushers in hopes that they can disrupt plays. Well, with the bulk of free agency over, there may not be a ton of production left on the market. However. could free agent pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue be the juice that a team needs to get to the QB? One of the most consistent pass rushers over the last decade, Ngakoue's 2023 season was cut short by a broken ankle suffered late in the season.

Given that it's a broken bone, you'd think that Ngakoue should be 100% for the start of the 2024 NFL Season. From 2016-2022, Ngakoue played for several teams but never finished a season with less than eight sacks. The 2023 season was the first year of his entire NFL career that he did not hit the eight sack mark.

He's got five seasons with at least 15 QB hits and has another three seasons with double-digit tackles for loss. Across 123 regular season games, he's got 69 sacks. His 17-game averages are 10 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, and 20 QB hits. Yannick Ngakoue has simply been a productive player his entire NFL career, no doubt about it.

The issue here is that Ngakoue hasn't stuck long-term with any team due to his ineffectiveness in playing the run. He's a subpar run defender and is really a pass-rusher only. Nonetheless, he's been able to do that quite well. With 69 sacks, 71 tackles for loss, and 142 QB hits, Yannick Ngakoue could end up being a huge steal for any team needing a pass rushing boost.