Raiders: Yannick Ngakoue signing will change Clelin Ferrell’s role

What have the Raiders gotten out of Ferrell so far?

The addition of Ngakoue brings up some interesting questions for current starting defensive end Clelin Ferrell. The former top-five pick has dealt with plenty of adversity in his career, including a mystery illness in 2019 that impacted his weight and conditioning, and a bout with injuries and COVID-19 in 2020 that forced him to miss five games.

Despite the adversity, Ferrell has been an impact player for the Raiders, but perhaps not in the way that they had hoped when they took him fourth overall in 2019. After recording 27 sacks in 43 games for the Clemson Tigers, Ferrell has struggled to capture that same form in the NFL, having posted just 6.5 sacks in 26 games so far.

He has generated 36 pressures and 18 QB hits during that span and has been an excellent run defender but has not been the gamechanger the team hoped he would be. With the addition of Ngakoue, the Raiders should be able to play up to Ferrell’s strengths, making the defensive line so much better as a group.