Philadelphia Eagles offseason watch: Clowney versus Ngakoue

One of the early offseason questions following the Philadelphia Eagles around is whether or not they’d be interested in Yannick Ngakoue or Jadeveon Clowney.

Three things must be stated about Yannick Ngakoue and Jadeveon Clowney before either is brought up in any conversation related to the Philadelphia Eagles. One, if you’re among the grouping of fans and media who think Clowney should never be thought about in an Eagles jersey because of the knockout shot he took on Carson Wentz, we’re all going to need you to come up with something a little better than that.

Clowney may be the best option available at the defensive end position once the free agency period opens. Sure, there are guys like Dante Fowler, Emmanuel Ogbah, and Matt Judon, but Clowney is up there. Philly should be exploring every option that could step in and make this team better, and disqualifying Clowney because some of you are mad at him won’t make good business or football sense.

That brings us to Yannick Ngakoue. He won’t be a free agent come March, but he’s in the same situation that Dak Prescott is in, good players who can’t get the money they’re looking for from their current team. It appears the Jacksonville Jaguars may place the franchise tag on him, and that means they’ll either look to continue working on a deal, they’ll try to hold him hostage for a season, or they’ll explore trade options.

Again, that should raise your antenna if you’re the Eagles or one of their fans.

The third thing most of us need to consider is this. Both will be expensive. If either prospect is an option, Philly’s going to have to pay Clowney more money than he’s worth or give up more than they want to the Jags to acquire Ngakoue’s rights. Like it or not, that’s what this time of year is all about Eagles fans. That’s where things get tricky. It seems as though a little research on both guys is needed.