Minnesota Vikings: Danielle Hunter ready for breakout?

Is Minnesota Vikings second year pass rusher Danielle Hunter ready for a breakout? He is bulked up and coming off of a great rookie year…

With 3.5 sacks in the final four games of last season, Danielle Hunter closed out a rookie season that was about as good as the Minnesota Vikings and their fans could have possibly hoped.

The 6-6 defensive end prospect out of LSU came in with the ‘boom or bust’ tag and going to Minnesota, you knew he had a better chance to boom going into the hands of Mike Zimmer and his staff.

I don’t know official statistics on this, but I would guess that up there with the Steelers and Packers, the Vikings have as many home-grown starters as any team in the NFL. Hunter was a top reserve last season behind Everson Griffen and Brian Robison, but he might soon join that long list of home-grown talent to enter the starting lineup.

Coming into the league with a relatively ‘thin’ 240 pound frame, Hunter was apparently bulked up to 250 pounds last season and entered OTAs this offseason seven pounds heavier at 257 pounds. In an article by Chris Thomasson of the Pioneer Press, Hunter gave a simple explanation for his physical transformation:

“People say I look good and how do I get like that? I say, ‘Go in the weight room.’ ”

According to the article linked above, Hunter had been training with Adrian Peterson this offseason.

Makes sense.

Peterson is one of the most rocked-up players in the NFL, and always has been. If Hunter has been spending time working out with AP, there’s no question he’s going to see results. But the results are going to take him further than just offseason headlines. Here’s a glimpse of what we saw from Hunter last year that leads me to believe this could be a breakout campaign for him…

This kid is going to be something.

Last year, Hunter was the youngest player in the NFL. He has plenty of room to grow, and the coaching staff in Minnesota to get it done.

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Hunter is still a player with a ton to learn technique-wise, and he’s still got plenty of growing to do as a football player overall. That said, he’s on the right track, and if last year showed us anything, it’s that he is capable of coming in and making an impact on the game with just his physical traits alone. Those have gotten even better over the course of the offseason.

Teammates and observers are saying Hunter looks bigger, stronger, and quicker than he was a year ago. The game is slowing down for him day by day, and 2016 could be a year Vikings look back on as a launching point for one of their best defensive players.