Who’s The Best Non-Cousins Vikings Player thru Week 3?

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Sep 29, 2021
Sep 26, 2021; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports.

Believe in his talents and steady statistics or denounce him a dink-and-dunking, stat-padding game manager, but Kirk Cousins has been the best, most impactful player on the Minnesota Vikings through three games of 2021. And it’s not that tight of a margin.

Pro Football Focus isn’t absolute gospel at all times, yet this is pretty close to a fair shake sans the Adam Thielen score. Thielen has four touchdowns in three games, furthering his claims as one of the NFL’s top redzone threats.

All of the nine players in the tweet — plus Brian O’Neill — performed admirably in the Vikings first three games, but Danielle Hunter is the prime candidate for top non-Cousins player to date.

His 80.5 PFF grade is not a mirage as Hunter registered four sacks in the first three games so far. That ranks fourth in the NFL behind Myles Garrett, Chandler Jones, and Hasson Reddick. Hunter is the reason the Vikings rank seventh in the league for quarterback pressures at the moment, according to Stathead.com.

Among EDGE peers, Hunter’s PFF score is 15th-best leaguewide. His grade is higher than Nick Bosa, Khalil Mack, and Chris Jones, among others. Put simply, Hunter is the reason Minnesota has a pass rush again. Last season while Hunter recovered from a neck injury, the Vikings ranked dead last in the NFL in rushing opposing quarterbacks. A theme for the entirety of the defense, Minnesota’s pass rush was particularly embarrassing in 2020. The foursome of Jalyn Holmes, Shamar Stephen, Jaleel Johnson, and Ifeadi Odenigbo didn’t do the trick. Go figure.

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Out of the gate in 2021, the defensive line is totally revamped with Hunter, D.J. Wonnum, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Michael Pierce (with Sheldon Richardson, Everson Griffen, and Stephen Weatherly interweaving snaps, too). The new group is taking time to jell — the pass rush is not dominant as of yet — but the defensive trenches are vastly improved from the pandemic season.

And you can thank Hunter, with a splash of the aforementioned Pierce, for that.

The unsung aspect of Hunter’s reascension to stardom is noteworthy as well. There was always a “what if” on his return to form — neck injuries are the spookiest in all of the gridiron world. Vikings brass wanted to wait and see if Hunter would be the 2019 edition — and so far, so good. The LSU alumnus is a free agent this spring, meaning general manager Rick Spielman has an expensive choice to make on Hunter’s future. Assuming the Vikings are not in a quasi-rebuilding mode — that is possible if the team doesn’t reach the postseason — Hunter will remain a Viking for four-plus more seasons at a gargantuan price tag.

But if head coach Mike Zimmer fails to rally the team to the postseason (and probably win a game thereafter), the 2022 Vikings will look markedly different than the brand you’re accustomed to. Despite the win over the Seahawks, which sent the team in the right direction, 2021 is still very much a make-or-break campaign for Zimmer (and possibly Kirk Cousins).

A productive Hunter will continue to work wonders for a Minnesota defense coalescing on the fly. The cornerback play is highly suspect while the run defense needs some juice.

Hunter, though, is the steadfast beacon of quarterback tyranny. That’s why he’s the Vikings second-best player out of the gate.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).