5 Chicago Bears auditioning for new teams over the final seven games of 2023
4. Will Yannick Ngakoue improve his sack total in the final seven games?
The Yannick Ngakoue signing has not gone well. Some Chicago Bears fans were surprised that he was a free agent and surprised that he has only stuck with a team for one year at a time before moving on. After this year, most fans realize why and will accept when Ngakoue is a free agent in July next year and is not coming back to Chicago.
He has not been as good as advertised. What stings is that he has always had questions against the run, but this yea, he is even worse than ever as a pass rusher. Below you can see his pass rush win rate and his pass rush production scores by year. He is worse than ever.
Year | PRP | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|
2023 | 4.6 | 4.6% |
2022 | 6.9 | 7.1% |
2021 | 6.6 | 10.7% |
2020 | 5.6 | 9.7% |
2019 | 6.5 | 9.9% |
Some of this has to do with his play dropping; some of it is because he is at his best rushing across from a talented rusher, but in Chicago, it was just him. Now, with Montez Sweat, Ngakoue has a chance to luck into some money.
Things will be easier for Ngakoue, and after a poor season, he can still turn it on for the final seven games, collect a couple of sacks, and have enough on the resume to earn a contract next year.
The question the Chicago Bears have to watch for is whether Ngakoue is earning these sacks or if they are falling into his lap. He has been known to take advantage of the easier sacks.