Vikings D-Linemen Danielle Hunter and Michael Pierce Look Ready for the 2021 Season

Hunter appears to be as quick and explosive as he was prior to missing all of the 2020 season with a neck injury.

When the Vikings take the field on September 12th for their season opener in Cincinnati, it'll be the first NFL game action in roughly 20 months for defensive end Danielle Hunter and nose tackle Michael Pierce. Both defensive linemen missed all of the 2020 season; Pierce opted out because his asthma put him in the high-risk category for COVID-19, and Hunter had a herniated disc in his neck that required surgery.

That's a long time to be away from the game, but based on recent videos on social media, both of them look healthy and ready to remind the league what they're capable of this year.

Pierce was the Vikings' big free agent signing in 2020 after four strong years for the Baltimore Ravens. The huge DT was going to come in and replace Linval Joseph as the tone-setter in the middle of Andre Patterson's defensive line. But as the season approached and coronavirus case numbers skyrocketed, Pierce — who has dealt with upper respiratory issues in the past — made the decision to err on the side of caution and opt out of the season. While that was the choice he made based on the information he had available at the time, he said earlier this offseason that it was hard not to regret it as the season went along and the NFL began handling the pandemic better.

Since he couldn't play in the games, Pierce attacked his training as hard as possible. He stayed inside, ate meals from a personal chef, and mixed together powerlifting and CrossFit for his workout regimen. The 340-pounder's goal was to maintain and add strength while becoming more explosive in order to wreak havoc up front this fall.

To get a sense of how strong Pierce is, here's a recent video of him deadlifting a substantial amount of weight with ease.

As for Hunter, his saga when it comes to the business side of football has been well-documented. But now that his contract has been taken care of, the focus can return to what he'll bring to the field this season after losing a year of his prime to injury. A famously hard worker, Hunter appears to have recovered from his neck surgery to become as quick and explosive as ever.

Here's the 26-year-old putting his footwork, quickness, and agility to work in some drills.

Of course, we won't know until the season starts whether or not Hunter and Pierce are able to get over the rust and have highly productive seasons, but videos like these are encouraging. The Vikings can't afford to have these two start slow. They need Pierce (and Dalvin Tomlinson) to stop the run and make things happen on early downs, and they desperately need Hunter to play like his old self and carry the pass rush on his back.

Based on the work they put in off the field, I wouldn't bet against either one this year.

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