Yannick Ngakoue knows how to make an early impression. Just five games into his debut season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the ex-Maryland defensive end has already joined an elite club of pass rushers — a club with a membership that now stands at two.
According to the senior manager of public relations for the Jags, Ngakoue is just the second player in the history of the NFL — not in the last 10 seasons, not since 1980, but in the history of the league — to compile four sacks and pick off a pass in his first five contests. Terrell Suggs of the Baltimore Ravens is the only other defender to garner those stats as a rookie.
Only 2 players in NFL history have registered 4.0+ sacks and 1+ INT through 1st 5 career games:@yan_d1prospect – 2016
Terrell Suggs – 2003
— Tad Dickman (@Tdickman89) October 17, 2016
The Jaguars aren’t having a ton of success, but they did topple the Bears on Sunday to improve their record to 2-3. Overall, the defense has taken down opposing quarterbacks 13 times, which is good for 12th most in football. That number, of course, would not be nearly as high without their third-round pick, who has been balling so far.
The record for most sacks by a first-year pro, by the way, is 14.5, set by Jevon Kearse in 1999. Ngakoue has 10.5 more to go to tie it, and 11 more weeks to get there.