The Jacksonville Jaguars are turning into a mess. In 2017, they were a playoff team coming off a lengthy rebuild, and they were hoping to be a perennial playoff team for the foreseeable future. 2017 ended up being their only playoff appearance as they missed the playoffs the past two seasons and didn't seem any closer to getting back.

Key pieces they have collected over their rebuilding years are either no longer apart of the team or want out. They traded away Jalen Ramsey, A.J. Bouye, and Calais Campbell, their listening to calls on Leonard Fournette, and Yannick Ngakoue have publicly requested a trade out of Jacksonville that even spilled into a Twitter war with the son who owns the Jaguars.

The Jaguars attempted to trade him leading up to the draft but couldn't find any takers.

Ngakoue has been a key contributor to the Jaguars' defensive front. This past season, he recorded 41 tackles (36 solo) with eight sacks and six pass deflections. He also got an interception that he ended up taking for a touchdown. Ngakoue is able to stay on the field as he's missed just one game over his four-year career.

He's set to make $17 788 000 in the upcoming season and will then become a free agent. Due to his contract situation, he'd only be a fit on teams that are in need of an impact player that will push them into contention. Here are teams that Ngakoue could be a fit for.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles defense wasn't particularly strong last year, and if they want to go back to the Super Bowl and keep up with the improving Cowboys, they need improvements on defense.

They made a trade for Darius Slay to boost their secondary, but they can also use some help upfront. Fletcher Cox has been a strong presence on the Eagles defensive line for years, but he's never really had a top tier partner on the line with him.

Playing in a 4-3 defensive set, the Eagles have Brandon Graham and Derek Barnett on the edges who combined for 60 tackles and 15 sacks, which is nothing to complain about, but upgrades are always welcomed.

The division rival Cowboys have a strong O-Line, which makes it more of a need to get top-tier players on the defensive line. And that's without mentioning that the Eagles also play the Ravens, Rams, Saints, Browns, Steelers, and Packers in the upcoming season who all have strong O-Line's themselves. In return, the Jaguars should be able to net themselves a third and sixth-round pick.

Detroit Lions

The Lions getting Ngakoue won't make them the Super Bowl contenders, and it's possible that the Lions wouldn't even make the playoffs if they got him in a tough NFC North. Still, Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia would definitely be willing to acquire him for the right price. Quinn and Patricia might even feel an urge to get a player like Ngakoue as if the Lions don't make the playoffs this year, both of them will be shown the door. The Lions had one of the worst defenses last season, and while they had a great draft, they only really got two defensive players that will make an impact for them in the 2020-21 season.

The Lions defensive line took a hit from the past season as they mutually parted ways with Damon Harrison Sr and replaced him with mediocre players.

The Lions are acting as they're going all in this year as if they don't reach the playoffs, they'll most likely tear things down and start over, and with Ngakoue having one year left on his contract, it fits the Lion's timeline as if the Lions do poorly, they can let him walk or trade him at the trade deadline, but if they end up doing well, they could attempt to extend Ngakoue and keep him around for longer. A deal between the Lions and Jaguars can possibly get done if the Lions are willing to give up a third-round pick in 2021 as well as a fourth-round pick in 2022.

Baltimore Ravens

The Jaguars and Ravens already connected on trade this offseason as the Jags sent five-time Pro-Bowl player Calais Campbell to the Ravens for a fifth-round pick, which many saw as a steal for the Ravens.

The Ravens could try and bring in Ngakoue, Campbell's former linemate and form one of the NFL's most daunting defensive lines. If the Ravens do indeed land Ngaouke, they would probably be Super Bowl favorites as Ngaouke would already make a strong Ravens defense even stronger with the Ravens strong offense and special teams. In order to get Ngakoue, the Ravens will have to create cap space, so they will have to trade one of CB Tavon Young or NT Brandon Williams before they can get Ngakoue. The Ravens would have to give up a second-round pick in order to have the Jaguars daunting defensive line in Baltimore.

Tennessee Titans

The Titans surprised everyone by making the playoffs last season, and they even beat the Patriots in the wild card round, which was expected by few.

Their biggest strength was Derrick Henry, with the receivers contributing here and there along with a decent secondary, but their D-Line is weak. It's one of the worst in the league. In the 2019-20 season, the starting players on the Titians D-Line (Jeffery Simmons, DaQuan Jones, and Isaiah Mack) combined for a paltry 4.5 sacks, just over half as many sacks as Ngaouke recorded. Throughout the offseason, the Titans have been linked to Jadeveon Clowney, but it may not be the smartest idea to hand a multi-year deal to Clowney as the Titans really need another season to prove that they are real contenders. With over $20 million in available cap space, the Titans will be able to take on Ngaouke's salary and still be about $3 million under the cap.

Ngaouke may be a better investment as if they prove they can be a contender with Ngaouke on the team, and they can use the money they would have spent on Clowney and use it towards a Ngaouke extension which is also two years younger than Clowney. Ngaouke for a third and fifth-round pick can probably get a deal done.

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals are a team on the rise due to a draft that's headlined by Isaiah Simmons and an offseason acquisition that brought in Deandre Hopkins. While they play in the same division as the Rams, Seahawks, and the 49ers, the NFC champs, Ngakoue, could help the Cards compete with these teams. In the upcoming season, the Cardinals are set to face the Redskins, Dolphins, Giants, Jets, Patriots, and Panthers.

While no win is guaranteed, those six games are teams that the Cardinals are better than or pair up with on paper. To get Ngakoue, the Cardinals will need to get rid of Robert Alford beforehand who's owed $7.5 million in 2020. The Cardinals have lots of depth at CB, and Alford is the Cardinals second string CB so getting rid of Alford who should be able to net them a mid-round pick to a CB needy team won't hurt. Along with Alford, the Cardinals will have to get rid of a few players who aren't paid as much so they remain under the cap. Also, the Cardinals will have almost $60 million in cap space for the 2021 season, giving them tons of money to work out an extension with Ngakoue, who might appreciate being on a growing team.

The Cardinals can give up a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick in 2021 along with a sixth-round pick in 2022 to bring Ngakoue to the desert.

Cleveland Browns

The Browns were the biggest disappointment of the 2019-20 season. Heading into the season with big expectations and playoff aspirations, they started really slow until they picked it up near the end but missed the playoffs. One thing that was in need of improvements was the O-Line, but they have turned that weakness into a strength with the signing of Jack Conklin and drafting Jedrick Wills Jr with the tenth pick. The line on the other side of the ball is decent with Myles Garrett and Sheldon Richardson, but why not make it better by getting Ngakoue.

With the most cap space in the league, the Browns can easily afford him without having to get rid of anyone. Maybe something like a second and sixth-round pick in 2021 for Ngakoue and a fifth-round pick would be able to net the Browns Ngakoue's services.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings, and Atlanta Falcons

All three teams mentioned above would benefit from Ngakoue, but it will be tough to make it work. The Buccaneers would do almost anything to improve their squad as they basically have two years to win a Super Bowl, but they only have $3 751 955 in cap space. Same thing with the Falcons, they don't have enough financial flexibility to fit Ngakoue on their roster as they have under $1.5 million in available cap space, which is the lowest amount of cap availability in the league.

The Vikings would actually be able to make a Ngakoue acquisition work. Still, they would then have to ship out Micahel Pierce and Shamar Stephen, who combine to make $10 133 333 and are the Vikings starting defensive tackles which would leave a massive hole up the middle if they both got traded. The cost would outweigh the acquisition, which simply wouldn't be worth it for the Vikings.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED