Vikings training camp preview: Danielle Hunter, Za'Darius Smith and the need for someone to emerge
Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith have odd couple vibes.
You won’t find a more soft-spoken superstar in the NFL than Hunter, while Smith is much more outgoing. Hunter has spent his entire career lining up at left defensive end, while Smith has moved around from edge rusher to linebacker to defensive tackle to haunt quarterbacks.
“They became really close,” outside linebackers coach Mike Smith said. “It was funny because early on, Danielle was really quiet. He just kind of kept to himself, me and Z were kind of looking at each other. And it was funny, D said well, because the way Z plays, he said I thought you were going to be a mean and angry guy.”
Somebody cue Bugs Bunny saying, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
In order for the Minnesota Vikings’ defense to improve from 24th in points allowed, they will need a better pass rush from the front four. Last year Hunter and Everson Griffen produced a combined 11 sacks and 64 pressures in just 550 pass rush snaps. Per PFF, Hunter had a pass rush win rate of 20.1% and Griffen wasn’t far behind at 19.3%. For context, those numbers ranked ninth and 11th, respectively. The next best Vikings edge rusher with more than 150 pass rush snaps ranked 71st in PRWR. DJ Wonnum finished 103rd of 107 rushers.
The Vikings still managed 51 sacks but they sacrificed coverage in order to do so, getting 15.5 of those sacks from either linebackers, corners or safeties.
If Hunter and Smith recreated their best seasons, they’d have 28 sacks by themselves. That potential has already caused Smith to declare the duo as one of the NFL’s best. But there are hurdles, including both players’ health and the adjustment for Hunter to a different role than he’s had in the past.
Smith missed all of last season — except Green Bay’s playoff game — with back surgery. He initially agreed to a contract with the Baltimore Ravens at the opening of free agency but the deal fell through.
While Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah would not confirm that the Ravens did not complete the contract because of Smith’s physical, you can reasonably speculate based on Smith’s terms with the Vikings that there were health concerns. His contract is, for all intents and purposes, a one-year deal with a $3.1 million cap hit. The Vikings can move on for only $3 million in dead cap after this year. A player of Smith’s caliber would cost $17-$20 million under normal circumstances.
The other side of that coin is this: Should Smith remain healthy and play like he did in 2019 and 2020, the Vikings will have landed one of the best bang-for-buck players in the NFL. It wouldn’t take more than a handful of healthy games or so to justify his price tag but questions about depth essentially require Smith to play from tape to tape in order for the Vikings to rush the passer with their front four better than last season.
Since 2019, Hunter has only played in seven games. His 2020 injury required neck surgery and last year he tore a pectoral muscle. Hunter said in a press conference this offseason that he recovered quickly from the torn pec and might have been able to play in the postseason had the Vikings made it. Still the accumulation of the two injuries is enough to cause anxiety about his ability to return to 2019 form.
“Last year’s injury wasn’t as significant as the year before… I feel good overall,” Hunter said.
The Vikings seem to want to see a full healthy year from Hunter. They could have elected to make him one of the highest paid players at his position on a long-term extension but instead chose to pick up his $18 million roster bonus and face a decision on his future next year.
They might also want to see Hunter in Ed Donatell’s defense. While his role is going to consist of rushing the passer almost exclusively, there are nuances involved.
“I think everybody gets caught up with the 3-4 and 4-3 — I'd say 70 percent of the time we're a 4-3 defense nickel defense, but [Hunter will] stand up and move more in space with the drops added,” Mike Smith said. “There's definitely a learning curve. Maybe not as much as people think, but there's still a lot that goes into it.”
Aside from standing up when he’s rushing the passer, Hunter will be lined up in different places on the defensive line, according to his position coach.
“You guys can look at my history and where I've been, I'm gonna put my best on your worst, Danielle loves it,” Mike Smith said. “You're gonna be over the center, you're gonna be over the guard. You're not playing just one side or the other, which at times they've been used to here.”
Last year Hunter played 384 snaps and only 85 were on the right side of the D-line (per PFF). In 2019 position shifts were even more rare for the Pro Bowler. He only lined up on the right side 47 times. Rushing up the middle is even more rare for Hunter. He has taken 10 snaps at defensive tackle since 2018.
“The one package we have where you see Z rushing up the middle and doing that type stuff, and now [Hunter] is getting to do it and he’s like a kid in a candy shop,” Mike Smith said. “He gets to move around. Now he gets to understand that once you get everything built and once you learn all these protections why it’s so beneficial. You’ve got a really athletic guy and most guards aren’t very athletic.”
If healthy, it’s hard to see Hunter or Za’Darius Smith having many issues with new surroundings. But if either player isn’t available for 17 games, the Vikings’ backup rushers have much to prove. The Vikings chose the development route behind Smith-Hunter over looking for cheap veteran rotational rushers, leaving them with Patrick Jones, Janarius Robinson and DJ Wonnum as the main depth players. Willekes was waived with an injury designation.
“These guys have a lot of potential,” Mike Smith said. “I’m going to tell you right now that Patrick Jones has the best get-off in the group, and it might not even be close right now that’s how good his get-off is. J-Rob, the first thing you say about him is he’s long. He’s another guy who can scratch his ankles standing up. He’s got the longest arms in the room. DJ is one of those guys that can just do it all. Probably the smartest kid in the room.”
The OLB’s coach will need to see his complimentary words come to fruition because there haven’t been many signs of life from any of the developmental players yet. Jones, a third-rounder in 2021, played 99 snaps and created just one pressure. Robinson spent the entire year on IR. Wonnum had 8.0 sacks and 42 pressures in 586 pass rush snaps but graded 59th of 63 starting edge rushers by PFF.
The Vikings added some dark horses to the mix in Andre Mintze, Luiji Vilain and Zach McCloud.
Mintze made the Broncos’ 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent but suffered a hamstring injury after playing 64 snaps for Denver. He was somewhat productive at Vanderbilt with 8.5 sacks and ran a sub-4.6 40-yard dash at his pro day. Vilain had 8.0 sacks in 12 games for Wake Forest. McCloud played six years at Miami and set a career high in sacks his final season with 5.5.
Whether it’s a UDFA or a player earmarked for a backup job, the Vikings need to walk out of camp more confident in their depth rushers than in previous years.
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