Falcons Potential Pass Rush Target Claimed by Patriots

An edge rusher that the Atlanta Falcons could have been targeting on the waiver wire landed with the New England Patriots.

Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue / Robert Scheer/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Atlanta Falcons will not be adding edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Friday that the New England Patriots claimed the 29-year-old off the waiver wire. The move occurred just one day after the Ravens placed Ngakoue on waivers.

Source: The #Patriots claimed pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue, formerly of the #Ravens.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 8, 2024

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Thursday that the Ravens were hoping to re-sign Ngakoue to their practice squad. But in order to do that, he would have needed to clear waivers, which didn't happen.

Teams with the worst records have the best waiver wire positions to claim players other teams release. The Patriots own a 2-7 record, so they had a far better spot on the waiver wire to claim Ngakoue than the Falcons.

It's not clear that Atlanta was interested in him anyway. But potentially adding Ngakoue made sense for the Atlanta roster.

The Falcons will enter Week 10 with a league-low 9 sacks. Ngakoue is a liability in run defense, but his speciality is rushing the passer.

Ngakoue is one of only five players in NFL history to record at least 8 sacks in each of his first seven seasons in the league.

He snapped that streak during the 2023 season with the Chicago Bears. Ngakoue had 4 sacks with 6 tackles for loss and 7 quarterback hits in 13 games that year. In five games this season, he has 1.5 sacks, 1 tackle for loss and 4 quarterback hits.

It's too bad the Falcons weren't able to grab Ngakoue. Adding him off the waiver wire for nothing would have been worth the risk. But there was no guarantee that he was going to provide a pass rushing boost.

Meanwhile, the Falcons will need to continue to rely on their current edge rushers to generate a better pass rush. That happened in Week 9, as the team posted 3 sacks, 5 tackles for loss and 8 quarterback hits versus the Dallas Cowboys.

But the Falcons will need to prove that performance wasn't a fluke or due to a favorable matchup. The Cowboys have struggled along their offensive line all season.

Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett leads the Falcons with 2.5 sacks. He also has a team-high 9 quarterback hits and 6 tackles for loss.