Danielle Hunter last played for the Vikings on Halloween night against the Cowboys. That was ten weeks ago. After that game, Hunter went on injured reserve with a season-ending pectoral tear.
And yet, it took until now for someone else to take sole possession of the Vikings' team lead in sacks.
Hunter's six sacks, all of which came in the season's first five games, held up until Week 18. D.J. Wonnum came into this game tied with Hunter at six, but sacked Andy Dalton twice in the first half to take the lead at eight. Everson Griffen, Eric Kendricks, and Armon Watts are tied for third with five sacks each.
I'm not exactly sure if that says more about Hunter or the rest of the Vikings' defense.
Hunter's loss was a hugely damaging one for Minnesota. When healthy, he's one of the most dominant edge rushers in the NFL. Not only does he get after quarterbacks at a very high rate, he's an excellent run defender.
Without Hunter, the Vikings' defensive end room held up for a while. But when they also lost Everson Griffen to mental health struggles, things kind of fell apart. Griffen would presumably be leading the team in sacks if he were still playing.
The Vikings were forced to move Sheldon Richardson from defensive tackle to DE just to have enough bodies at the position. Wonnum has eight sacks, but nearly all of them have been unblocked or coverage sacks. He's really struggled against the run and doesn't win quickly on very many pass rushing reps. The other options have been young players like Kenny Willekes and Patrick Jones II or street free agents like Eddie Yarbrough and Tashawn Bower.
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