The Chicago Bears knew they couldn’t function as a defense at a high level this season without at least one credible pass rusher. While they have high hopes for DeMarcus Walker, his career-high is seven sacks. Nobody believes he’s the guy offenses will have to gameplan for. GM Ryan Poles was under pressure from fans and media to make another addition to the roster. Someone with a more proven track record. It took longer than expected, but the team eventually came to terms with veteran Yannick Ngakoue.
Experts considered him the best pass rusher remaining on the market. The 28-year-old has 65 sacks in his career, averaging over eight per season. His mixture of speed, quickness, and deceptive power make him a handful for every offensive tackle in the league. Chicago had nothing like him last year. Now the defensive line finally appears to have some teeth. That was evident from the moment he suited up for his first practice. The defensive line had its way with the offensive line for most of the morning, and Ngakoue was a big part of it. Peter King of NBC Sports stated the Bears brass felt the sack artist was the final piece to their puzzle.
“When the general manager of this team, Ryan Poles, was in Hawaii on vacation, a guy came up to him and said ‘man, you need a pass rusher.’ He said ‘I’m on vacation with my family, and I know,’” King recalled. “So what he did was he went out and had a choice between Justin Houston and Yannick Ngakoue. They signed Ngakoue….The Bears believe is that he’s going to be that missing piece, that 10, 11, 12 sack guy, that they’ve been looking for to add to their defensive front.”
Yannick Ngakoue is already mentoring their most promising youngster.
Nobody has been a bigger revelation at training camp from the 2023 draft class than Gervon Dexter. The defensive tackle from Florida was viewed by experts as an excellent run-stopped. Though a freak athlete for his size, they had reservations about his ability to pressure the quarterback. Yet over the past two weeks, Dexter has found himself in the backfield more and more. Now he’s getting extra lessons from Ngakoue, one of the top pass rush specialists in the league. The timing couldn’t be better.
For all his speed and explosion, people often fail to realize how scientific Yannick Ngakoue is in his approach. He’s so good at identifying the tendencies of an opposing tackle and then finding a move that will work against them. This is what the guys who get 8-10 sacks every year must do. Plenty of people have come into the league with similar talent. Few embraced the work necessary to hone their craft. That is why Ngakoue can be so value to the Bears. He’s not only a great player but also a great learning tool.
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