How will Yannick Ngakoue fit into Baltimore? Look no further than Calais Campbell for an answer.
Campbell and Ngakoue played together for three years in Jacksonville, so the Ravens defensive end knows what the new Raven is all about.
"I'm stoked. He's such a great talent, just a great guy," Campbell said Thursday. "I think he's going to thrive in this culture that we have here. I can't wait."
Ngakoue spent four seasons in Jacksonville before being traded to the Minnesota Vikings shortly before the start of this season. He had been seeking a long-term contract from the Jaguars that never came to fruition. Ngakoue reportedly took a pay cut with a reworked one-year deal to go to Minnesota.
"I know he wants to win. He loves the game of football," Campbell said. "This is a place where he's going to flourish. This culture is going to bring the best out of him and his game. He's just scratching the surface of how good he can be."
Ngakoue is already one of the game's most productive pass rushers with 42.5 sacks in 69 career games, but he could be even better in Baltimore's defense.
"We have a package where we put five pass rushers on the field at one time – usually we do that on third down – and we just take turns," Campbell said.
"He has the ability to drop and cover tight ends and I've seen him do it at a high level. But his best is going forward. He can bend that edge probably better than anybody in the league. It gives us another option when you have to try to block us. You don't know which way we're going to send the blitz, which way we're coming from. We're going to be a tough team to beat with him on the field."
Ravens fans aren't the only ones excited about the trade. His new teammates are pumped too.
Ngakoue fits what the Ravens are looking for off the field as well, as he is somebody who gives back to the community. During the offseason, he donated Chromebooks to kids where he grew up in Prince George's County in Maryland.
