The Chicago Bears signed Yannick Ngakoue in a move that so many fans and analysts could see coming. The Bears big weakness entering the year was a pass rusher, and you could not find one with a better resume in recent years than Ngakoue. Still, the move did take time, and Ngakoue lingered in free agency for a while.
The move makes plenty of sense, but there has to be some downside. What is it?
3. Can Yannick Ngakoue be consistent for the Chicago Bears?
Yannick Ngakoue always gets his stats, but there is a reason that he bounces from team-to-team. It may be that he is a bit worried about his stats on paper than the down-to-down production. Not many pass rushers can say that they have eight sacks in every season, and the Bears will take that.
Still, he has always lined up with some great rushers around him such as Calais Campbell, Danielle Hunter, and DeForest Buckner. More than that, it shows in the stats that he is not a consistent pass rusher.
Last season, he ranked 12th amongst qualified edge rushers in sacks. However, he ranked 41st in total pressures. Crazier than that, he ranked 135th in pass rush win rate. So, he does not win often, but when he does win, he gets to the quarterback.
His pass rush productivity was 6.9 last season. His win rate was 7.1%. Samson Ebukam, Carl Lawson, Joseph Ossai, Marcus Davenport, and Alex Highsmith were all at about the same pass rush productivity, but none of them had a win rate under 10%. The only player with a higher pass rush production score on a worse win rate was Michael Hoecht.
Even Trevis Gipson had an 8.9% win rate last year, and Rasheem Green was at 8.1%. It is fair to admit that Ngakoue is better at producing his wins than those two. However, the fact that he is not beating his man as often as those two has to be alarming. Does he need someone to help him clear a path to be better at cleaning things up? Or does he just pick his spots, and the team will need to be okay with the downs because of the ups?
2. Yannick Ngakoue will not help the Chicago Bears run defense
All of the talk will be about Yannick Ngakoue and what he can bring to the pass rush. As we noted, he can find a way to get to the quarterback even when he does not beat his man consistently. Also, he saves all of his energy for those moments when he knows it is time to get sacks. Ngakoue plays the game well if the game is making sure your numbers look good and you can get paid.
The things that do not stand out, like run defense, are where he can be an issue. According to PFF, Yannick Ngakoue ranked ninth in missed tackles amongst qualified edge rushers. Of the 91 rushers who qualified, Ngakoue ranked 84th in run defense grade.
Fortunatley for him and the Chicago Bears, Ngakoue is actually ahead of Trevis Gipson, who ranked 88th, and Dominque Robinson, who ranked 89th in this category. Still, Rasheem Green was top 50 in this category, and DeMarcus Walker was top 30. It is clear that they were prioritizing run defense with those signings.
It does make sense that after adding two solid run defenders who lack pass rush, they would add a pass rusher who struggles with run defense. However, this may be more about a warning that Ngakoue may not be playing much on first down or on second and third down and short.
When it is third down and long, and it is time to get after it, he will play. However, he will not be an everydown type of player, and that may be for the best. The question is if they are paying too much for a bit of inflated production.
1. Will Yannick Ngakoue help build the culture with the Chicago Bears?
One of the main reasons we thought that the Chicago Bears might not sign Yannick Ngakoue is the question of what he brings to the culture of the roster. There is a reason that Ngakoue is now on his sixth team as he enters his eighth NFL season. We have noted that he knows that his numbers are what matters to him getting paid, and he plays like it.
That is not what Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears have been building. Remember they passed on George Pickens because they were worried about similar issues? It was definitely a more serious incident with Jalen Carter, but the team passed on him because they wanted to keep the locker room in line.
Now, they are signing Ngakoue, who is essentially a mercenary. He goes from team-to-team looking for the best deal. Matt Eberflus preaches hustle, intensity, technique, and smarts. Ngakoue plays smart for his pockets but not quite for the team. The hustle and intensity come and go based on whether he thinks he can grab a sack, and the technique in run defense has never been there.
In terms of the team needing a pass rusher and getting one, they checked the box. However, the system fit and the culture fit brings more questions. Will this be another year where Ngakoue wears out his welcome, and the team moves on shortly after?