Vikings cut bait on Yannick Ngakoue, trade him to Ravens

The Minnesota Vikings kicked off trade deadline season on Thursday with a big move. Just two months after acquiring edge defender Yannick Ngakoue from the Jacksonville Jaguars the Vikings are sending him back to the AFC, to the Baltimore Ravens.

Here’s an overview of the terms the Vikings spent to get him and the ones they’re getting back from the Ravens.

Vikings spent on Ngakoue:

• 2021 second-round pick
• 2022 conditional fifth-round pick

Vikings received from Ravens:

• 2021 third-round pick
• 2022 conditional fifth-round pick (condition details here)

So, in essence, they spent a second-round pick and got Ngakoue for six games and a third-round pick in return. Of course, these draft picks are also going to be in very different spots in each round. Their original draft picks—now belonging to the Jaguars—are looking like they’ll be near the top of the round, while the ones they’re getting from the Ravens will likely be towards the end of the round.

In six games with the Vikings, Ngakoue tallied 6.0 sacks, seven quarterback hits, and an overall PFF grade of 63.5 (74.3 pass rushing grade).

However, with the team at 1-5 through six games, it appears Minnesota has decided to start building for the future and acquiring draft picks again. Remember, the Vikings drafted 15 players in 2020, and it appears they may be approaching 2021 with a similar strategy.

Either way, the Lions dodged a bullet here. They didn’t have to play Ngakoue last week against the Jaguars, and now they won’t have to play against him in either of the two remaining matchups with the Vikings, including the 2020 season finale. The Ravens, thankfully, are not on the Lions’ schedule this year.