One Former Viking Is Up to His Old Tricks
Because the Minnesota Vikings’ defense ranks fourth in the NFL through two games per EPA/Play, not many fans think about Danielle Hunter.
One Former Viking Is Up to His Old Tricks
However, the man has picked up right where he left off in Minnesota — but with the Houston Texans.
Hunter left the Vikings in March for his hometown Texans club, leaving an immediate void in Minnesota’s defense. In fact, onlookers panicked a bit about his departure, but Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah quickly signed free agents Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, taming any pass-rushing anxiety. Six weeks later, Adofo-Mensah scooped Alabama’s Dallas Turner out of the draft’s 1st Round.
Through two games in Houston, Hunter has logged an impressive 77.3 Pro Football Focus grade nominating him as the league’s 18th-best EDGE defender. In 2023, he produced a 78.0 PFF mark, so the man truly hasn’t missed a beat with the address change.
Hunter joined the Vikings in 2015 as a 3rd-Round pick and didn’t take long to blossom. He earned a starter’s job by 2017, his third year as a pro, replacing Brian Robison, and never looked back. In 2023, Hunter was the Vikings’ most consistent defensive player in a season when the defense, on the whole, was a total rollercoaster. The club began 2023 with a terrible first three games, became one of the best defenses in football from Weeks 4 through 14, and bottomed out at the worst possible time during the season’s final four games.
All together last season, Hunter banked a career year, his age-29 campaign, totaling 16.5 sacks, a career-high. That mark also ranked fifth leaguewide, trailing T.J. Watt (19.0), Trey Hendrickson (17.5), Josh Allen (17.5), and Khalil Mack (17.0). He also led the NFL in tackles for loss.
Meanwhile, Houston is off to a hot start — just like the Vikings — tabulating a 2-0 record out of the gate. Interestingly, Hunter’s Texans take on the Vikings this weekend at U.S. Bank Stadium, so Hunter and Greenard (who previously played for Houston) will have early “revenge” games.
Hunter and the Texans knocked off the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football, a team he knows quite well. He even commented on the familiarity after the win. “If you dissect the O-line, the quarterback can’t really do anything. One way to affect the quarterback is by beating the O-line, and we did a pretty good job as a defense,” Hunter told reporters. “I played them last year. Feel like some of the players that are still there, they still have the same tendencies. Just passed it on to my teammates. Might help them rush better. Maybe it did.”
He will also know the Vikings really well this weekend.
Hunter is currently on pace for 13 sacks and 34 tackles for loss. PFF has credited him with 9 quarterback pressures through two games.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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