Seahawks should take both Ngakoue and Fournette from Jaguars

The Jaguars are wanting to trade Yannick Ngakoue and Leonard Fournette. The Seahawks need an edge rusher and running back. 1 plus 1 equals 2.

The Seahawks are going to be hurting, literally, at running back in 2020. Chris Carson will ve coming back from a hip injury that ended his season early in 2019. Rashaad Penny might not return until midway through the year after trying to return from a knee injury. Jacksonville is apparently trying to shop running back Leonard Fournette.

Of course, as everyone knows, the Seahawks also need an edge rusher or six. The Jaguars are trying to get a taker for young and gifted defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. We here at 12th Man Rising have written at length about how Seattle should trade for Ngakoue and then once traded for, pay him long-term with an extension.

If Seattle can work out the draft capital and current players to trade to the Jaguars they should not just pry Ngakoue from Jacksonville, they should complete the trade by getting Fournette too.

Fournette is the perfect size for a Pete Carroll running back at 6-feet and 230 pounds. He is 25 years old, and though he has already had one season cut short due to injury, he should be good for several more seasons. Running backs tend to get old fast, of course, but if the Seahawks could add Fournette for 2020 and then get him to sign a two-year deal after that, it would work out well.

Seattle’s Carson will be a free agent after this season so the Seahawks would probably have to let Carson walk if they do sign Fournette. But the Seahawks might also decide to use Penny as trade bait in the Jaguars deal and the Seahawks could try to keep Fournette and Carson. That would be a formidable duo and would save the wear and tear on both players.

Carson has had to make his own yards while rushing behind a not-great Seahawks line. But Fournette has had it worse so he can generate yards on his own too. In 2019, Carson was 9th in the NFL in yards gained after first contact at 2.6. Fournette had to be even better, however, and was fourth in the league with an average of 3.0 yards after contact.

Fournette can also catch. He was targeted 100 times last year and caught 76 of them. And one of the best things about Fournette in 2020 is he is only due a manageable $4.16 million in base salary.

What better way for the Seahawks to entice the Jaguars to trade Ngakoue then for Seattle to say they will save Jacksonville money long-term and take Fournette too. Both Ngakoue and Fournette are young enough to produce at a high-level for the Seahawks in 2020 and beyond as well.

Ngakoue, with his quickness and experience, would be a perfect fit in Seattle’s 4-3 (or hopefully more of a 4-2-5) base. He can get close to 10 sacks or more and help Seattle’s defensive front be near-great again. If Seattle can trade for him they need to extend his contract too.

So what might the Seahawks have to do to get both Ngakoue and Fournette from the Jaguars? Ngakoue is worth a first round pick and I think Seattle should trade their first-rounder in 2020 along with a future, lower-round choice for him. Fournette, and hardly any running back, is worth a first round choice, but if Seattle offers a third round choice for him and couples that with trading Penny, maybe that would be close enough? Or maybe not. But the Seahawks should at least try.