What are some statistics and facts to know about new Minnesota Vikings defensive end Yannick Ngakoue?
The plan felt sturdy. Everson Griffen concluded his decade-long stay with the Minnesota Vikings after a long free-agent purgatory that lasted most of the summer. The Dallas Cowboys vitalized their already robust defensive line by signing Everson Griffen in August. Vikings loyalists shed tears and focused on a new reality — Griffen was not coming back to Minneapolis.
As for a replacement, the Vikings would turn to 26-year-old Ifeadi Odenigbo to fill the defensive end position on the right side of Minnesota’s defensive line. Odenigbo stormed to a strong finish of the 2019 campaign in his first real opportunity as a professional player. He would be cheap, hungry, and quite likable. Odenigbo would collaborate with left defensive end Danielle Hunter, and voilà, the Minnesota Vikings were set in the wake of Griffen’s departure.
On an early Sunday morning late in the preseason, the so-called plan was extinguished. Minnesota dealt a second and fifth-round draft pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue. Instantaneously, the Vikings went from a probably-pretty-good duo of defensive ends to an elite combination.
Ngakoue is somewhat widely known around the NFL. His name was put on an atlas when the 2017 Jaguars, under the moniker of Sacksonville, nearly bumped off the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship.
There is much to learn about the new guy, so let’s get started.