The New Orleans Saints are already one of the biggest winners of the NFL offseason. Landing free agent quarterback Derek Carr is a huge boost for the franchise, as they are now the likely favorites to win the NFC South.
Heading into the offseason, that isn’t something anyone would have thought about occurring for New Orleans. They were once again in salary cap hell and didn’t have a starting quarterback under contract for 2023. Now that they do, the outlook for the Saints has drastically improved.
This was a team that had they received consistent, solid quarterback play during the 2022 season, likely would have been in the postseason. They ended up finishing the season 7-10 but had a top-10 defense, which certainly bodes well for this upcoming season.
However, there is still some work that could be done for the Saints to reach their potential. While Carr will elevate the offense, the defense does have a few holes to fill. A mass exodus occurred along the defensive line as Marcus Davenport, David Onyemata and Shy Tuttle all departed in free agency.
Nathan Shepard and Khalen Saunders were both signed to help offset those losses, but both are interior defenders. The team still needs someone on the edge to complement Cam Jordan. That is what makes the Saints the best fit in free agency for Yannick Ngakoue.
Ngakoue has become somewhat of a hired hand in the last few seasons around the league. If you need a pass rusher, he is seemingly always available. Since having the franchise tag placed on him during the 2020 offseason by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Ngakoue has changed his address numerous times.
The Jaguars traded him to the Minnesota Vikings that offseason, where he played six games before being traded to the Baltimore Ravens. As a free agent in 2021, he signed a two-year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders. To make room for Chandler Jones during the 2022 offseason, Ngakoue was traded by the Raiders to the Indianapolis Colts.
Now a free agent again, Ngakoue will be joining his sixth franchise in three years. That is quite a whirlwind, but he has not let it negatively impact his performance on the field. Wherever Ngakoue is playing, he performs.
The Maryland product has recorded at least 8.0 sacks and double-digit quarterback hits in every season of his career. He finds plenty of success getting into the opponent’s backfield, recording at least eight tackles for loss in each season as well.
While not a highly-regarded run defender, Ngakoue certainly has some juice rushing the passer. With $16 million in cap space, the Saints can not only offer him a good sum of money, but the chance to contribute to a playoff team. With a clear need for a pass rusher, the Saints and Ngakoue are a perfect match in free agency.
