The Chicago Bears signed Yannick Ngakoue in a decision that makes plenty of sense on the surface. So, now that he is on the team, what are the important factors for fans to know?
5. Chicago Bears will line up Yannick Ngakoue against left tackles
If you are going to be looking for Yannick Ngakoue it should not be too hard. If he is on the field, he will be lined up against the left tackle. Ngakoue has 5,497 snaps in his career. Of those, 4,165 snaps came against the left tackle. That is over 76% of the time that he is on the field. So, he will take on the right tackle here, and there, and he may even slide inside for a snap or two, but he is almost primarily on one side of the field.
This is good to know when thinking of where the rest of the group will line up. It had been assumed that DeMarcus Walker would line up on that side, but he has played both sides in his career. He also will slide inside at times. Rasheem Green has also played both sides, but last season, he spent the majority of his snaps against right tackles.
Trevis Gipson spent almost all of his snaps against right tackles as well and was much better on that side. Dominique Robinson was almost exclusively lining up against left tackles, so he will be behind Ngakoue.
As of now, the way to look at the rotation is that Gipson and Green will primarily stay on their side while Ngakoue and Robinson will stay on theirs. Then, Walker will play up and down, including inside. Green will lead the split but will be closer to 60-40, and Ngakoue will probably be closer to 80-20 over Robinson.