The Minnesota Vikings defensive line has been one of the biggest question marks around training camp this season. With the loss of Everson Griffen and the opting out of Michael Pierce the team desperately needed to find a way to make the unit better as a whole.
They did exactly that early Sunday morning while acquiring Yannick Ngakoue.
The former Jacksonville Jaguars star is coming to Minnesota to give them the pass rush help they so desperately needed. In his four seasons with the Jaguars Ngakoue totaled 122 tackles, 42 of which were for a loss, and 37.5 sacks. He also has a total of 232 total pressures generated since entering the league.
The Vikings have watched Danielle Hunter miss nearly two weeks of practice in a row, but it has been labeled as precautionary. Hopefully this doesn't mean the injury is more severe than originally thought, as this pass rushing duo would have the makes to be elite. Hunter has totaled 54.5 sacks since entering the league in 2015, meaning the two have totaled for 92 sacks during that time frame.
Ngakoue brings a ton of talent with him to Minnesota, immediately making the defensive line a better unit. The Vikings are trading away a second-round pick along with a conditional fifth-round pick, in a draft where they were slated to have 12 picks.
The pass rushing duo of Hunter paired with Ngakoue is going to be a scary sight for opposing quarterbacks. Ifeadi Odenigbo was the likely favorite to replace Griffen but it’s likely his role will now be reduced. This trade not only brings a star to Minnesota, but it creates depth at a position that was extremely thin.
For more updates on the trade tune into KFAN 100.3 or KFAN.com.