Minnesota Vikings: Danielle Hunter’s upside
By Ryan Palmer
Minnesota Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter is poised to wreak havoc against NFL quarterbacks in 2016.
He’s barely old enough to buy a beer, yet Danielle Hunter is already making some early waves in his young Minnesota Vikings career. The genetically blessed 6’5, 257 pound Hunter seems to be a perfect fit for Mike Zimmer’s style of defense. Zimmer loves speed and athleticism in his edge rushers, and he may have hit the lottery in the third round of the 2015 NFL draft.
The average human male usually stops growing around the age of 21, meaning Danielle is just now beginning to truly come into adulthood. He’s already built like a Greek god, and the scary thing is he will be able to add more mass to an already imposing frame. So why are people so excited about Hunter?
An unexpectedly solid rookie season
Danielle Hunter’s rookie statistics might not seem that glamorous (6 sacks, 33 tackles), but considering that he was inactive for two games and did not really get into the rotation until the latter part of the regular season, those numbers look pretty formidable. The Vikings thought they were getting a project to develop, instead he was a solid contributor on one of the NFL’s most dominate defenses. His counterpart, Brian Robison, respectively had 5 sacks and 34 tackles, and he is a 10 year veteran of the game. And it’s not just his pass rushing ability, Danielle can already play the run like a seasoned pro.
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“Don’t tell me about the labor, just show me the baby”
That quote is one of Mike Zimmer’s favorites, and Danielle Hunter puts in the work to be great. Some would say the soft spoken 21 year old is like a sponge, just trying to absorb everything around him. With mentors like Robison, Everson Griffen, Chad Greenway, Harrison Smith, and Terence Newman the Minnesota Vikings sophomore star is in good hands.
Upside
After finishing second in sacks for rookies in 2015, Hunter made Rick Spielman and the Minnesota Vikings brain trust look brilliant. Defensive line coach Andre Patterson was asked how good he thought Danielle Hunter could be, Patterson refused to limit him, basically saying the skies the limit on how good he can be.
Next: Is Norv Turner on the chopping block
It looks like the Minnesota Vikings might have a perennial All-Pro on their squad for years to come, SKOL!