5 Vikings players you forgot about from the Mike Zimmer era
By Adam Carlson
Yannick Ngakoue, DE (2020)
Desperate to add some pass-rush power for the upcoming season, the Minnesota Vikings made a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars to bring Pro Bowl defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to the team. The purple and gold gave up a second-round pick as well as a future fifth-round conditional pick to acquire him.
Ngakoue looked like he could be the answer for Minnesota early on. In six games played, he racked up five sacks on eight quarterback hits and forced two fumbles before his time with the team came to an end.
Minnesota and Ngakoue didn’t seem to have the same outlook on the defense and the Vikings shipped him to Baltimore for a third-round pick and a conditional future fifth-round pick, leaving them with a lack of depth at defensive end.
Sadly, Ngakoue still ended up leading the team in sacks during the 2020 NFL season. What hurts more about this situation is that he notched double-digit sacks with the Raiders during the 2021 season and the 27-year-old defender looks to be a force for many years to come.