3 desirable free agents Seahawks should sign before 2023 NFL draft

Seahawks should sign edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue

While Justin Houston is getting a bit older and is more of an edge rusher than a run-stopper at this point, Ngakoue is a pure edge rusher who isn’t going to help much against the run. For the Seahawks’ purposes as far as what they have done in free agency this offseason, Ngakoue only being a pass rusher is OK. Seattle has added run stopper and linebackers who can tackle, but they haven’t added an edge rusher and Ngakoue almost fits the definition of that perfectly.

Ngakoue is going to get paid by someone. Even if he only does one thing he does that thing especially well. In his seven years in the NFL, Ngakoue has never had fewer than 8 sacks in a season. In the last two years, he has 10 and 9.5 sacks, respectively. The Seahawks adding Ngakoue would do two things. One is that he is an excellent pass rusher in and of himself. Two is that he could teach and help perfect some moves for Darrell Taylor.

In fact, Taylor is becoming the type of player Ngakoue is. That would be that Taylor isn’t good against the run or in coverage, but he knows how to chase down quarterbacks. Taylor still is wildly inconsistent, however, and needs to hone his craft a bit more. Ngakoue is a master of pass-rush moves and his being around would help player and team.

Ngakoue’s market value per Spotrac is $14.8 million in annual salary. That seems crazy high at this stage of free agency, though. But Ngakoue will only be 28 years old when the 2023 season begins so he has a number of years to be a potentially devastating pass rusher. If his salary is under $8 million, the Seahawks should somehow fit him in on the roster.