Vikings UFA Profile: OLB D.J. Wonnum

Wonnum had a nice contract year, and now he'll look to cash in.

Will Ragatz | Feb 14, 2024

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Minnesota Vikings

With the 2023 season in the books, Inside the Vikings is taking a look at all 22 of Minnesota's pending unrestricted free agents over the course of a few weeks. We're examining their past and speculating about their future, particularly the likelihood that they could be re-signed by the Vikings this offseason. We started from the least important (Hakeem Adeniji) and are working our way up to the big fish (Kirk Cousins).

Vikings UFA profile: OLB D.J. Wonnum

Age: 26
2023 stats: 8 sacks, 62 tackles, 6 passes defended, 1 fumble return TD
2023 contract AAV: $1.01 million

Betting on the upside of his physical traits, the Vikings selected D.J. Wonnum out of South Carolina in the fourth round of the 2020 draft. At 6'5", 258 pounds, he fit the mold of the raw, toolsy middle-round edge rusher that the Vikings have been trying to replicate since hitting a home run with Danielle Hunter in 2015.

Wonnum played in 62 games over the course of his rookie contract, starting half of them. He had three sacks as a rotational rookie during that weird 2020 season where Hunter was out and Yannick Ngakoue led the Vikings in sacks despite only playing six games. That season included maybe his career highlight — crushing Aaron Rodgers to cap off an upset win at Lambeau Field. Wonnum then led the team with eight sacks in 2021 as Hunter got hurt again midseason.

In his third season, Wonnum returned to a rotational pass-rushing role behind Hunter and new acquisition Za'Darius Smith. He then had the most productive season of his career this past season, starting 14 games because Marcus Davenport — who was signed to replace Smith — was never healthy. Wonnum tied his career-high with eight more sacks in 2023, adding six pass deflections and the first touchdown of his career.

The reality is that Wonnum is best suited as a team's third edge rusher, not an every-down starter. He has 23 sacks in four seasons, but many of them — especially prior to 2023 — came on plays where he was unblocked or was cleaning up a scrambling quarterback thanks to good coverage on the back end. Wonnum's PFF grade was a career-best 62.3 this season (60 is average) after three years in the 50s, and his pass rush win rates have never been particularly impressive. Fascinatingly, he has 7.5 sacks and 41 pressures in eight career games against the Chicago Bears, with 15.5 sacks and 95 pressures in 55 games against everyone else.

Having eight sacks in a contract year was good for Wonnum, who is still just 26. But it would likely be a mistake if a team gave him a big starter-caliber contract and role. He deserves to see what he can get in terms of money, so it seems likely that he'll end up signing elsewhere. Then again, the Vikings aren't re-signing Davenport and might lose Hunter in free agency, so maybe they look into bringing Wonnum back on a relatively cheap deal — if that's an option.

Previous Vikings UFA profiles:

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Published Feb 14, 2024

WILL RAGATZ