Philadelphia Eagles should explore trade for Yannick Ngakoue

With the Jacksonville Jaguars planning to use the franchise tag on Yannick Ngakoue, the Philadelphia Eagles should explore a potential trade for the defensive end.

Long shot or not, should the Philadelphia Eagles at least explore the possibility of acquiring Yannick Ngakoue through a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason?

Between free agency officially starting up soon to the draft taking place towards the end of April, the Eagles have plenty of work on their plates over the next few months to put the team in the best position possible to earn another trip to the playoffs in 2020.

Since there were already previous signs that Jacksonville would most likely use the franchise tag on Ngakoue, the thought of the Maryland product ever ending up in Philadelphia for the 2020 season seemed like an absolute long shot.

However, circumstances change all the time in the NFL, and with the Jaguars recently announcing their plans to use the tag on Ngakoue while exploring potential trade options, the Eagles have nothing to lose in at least considering the possibility.

For starters, when seeing how Ngakoue has been a consistent starter for Jacksonville since joining the team in 2016 with 37.5 sacks in 63 games, one can only imagine what his presence would be like on Philadelphia’s defensive line.

Even if the tag for Ngakoue in 2020 will be expensive ($19.3 million), and there is no guarantee the star defender will want to stick around for the long run, the Eagles at least have a strong case to convince him.

As previously mentioned, the Eagles managed to reach the playoffs for a third year in a row during the 2019 season, and there’s a good chance the team will remain a top contender moving forward, especially if they take advantage of having a strong offseason.

The Eagles’ defense is already loaded with great talent that causes all sorts of problems for opposing quarterbacks such as Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox, but there’s always room for an additional threat.

Rightfully so, Jacksonville will most likely be receiving a handful of calls over the next few weeks in regards to what it would take to acquire Ngakoue in a trade, and the last thing Philadelphia wants is to miss out on a perfect opportunity to improve the defense.

Bringing someone like Ngakoue on board certainly wouldn’t be cheap, and convincing him to stick around for the long run would be even more expensive, but also if it helps keep the Eagles a top contender in the NFC, this all seems worth the consideration.