Danielle Hunter Has Played Historically Well Before Age 25
Brickwallblitz
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Danielle Hunter’s emergence as the premiere pass rusher on the Vikings defense has been all the more special considering he doesn’t turn 25 until October 29th.
In 2018 Hunter finished with 14.5 sacks (4th most behind Aaron Donald, J.J. Watt and Chris Jones), 21 tackles for loss (2nd behind Donald) and 19 quarterback hits. It was a sensational campaign for the now fifth year veteran, and he earned himself his first career trip to the Pro Bowl as well as being named to the Associated Press’ Second Team All-Pro.
With that said, just how good has Hunter been before hitting the age of 25? Well, his 25.5 sacks before his age 24 season were the 10th most in NFL history. He’s also one of eight players (Shawn Merriman, Aldon Smith, Robert Quinn, Terrell Suggs, Mario Williams, Von Miller and Derrick Thomas) with at least 30 career sacks before turning 24.
Furthermore, since quarterback hits (sacks and hits after the pass was thrown are included) were fully charted by the NFL beginning in 2006, Hunter’s 58 QB hits are ninth all time before the age of 25.
This is some amazing company, and it gets even better below, as Hunter’s 40.0 sacks before his age 25 season are the fourth most in NFL history.
Hunter’s statistics before reaching the age of 25 are even more impressive when you consider he’s only started 53.2% of his career games. He’s an elite talent beginning to go into his prime and as long as he stays healthy he has plenty of great years left in him.
You only need to go into one of Hunter’s sacks to get the big picture on how good of an edge rusher he is. On this sack against the 49ers he executes a rip move against the right tackle, shoving his way past the blocker in a flash.
Hunter’s bend on the play allows him to get to Jimmy Garoppolo without much trouble. The Vikings are full of talent on that defensive line, and Hunter’s progression into the star of that unit has been a lot of fun to watch.
Let’s watch another example before we wind this article up.
This was one of my favorite pressures from any pass rusher in 2018. Hunter looks as if he’s going to perform a rip move on left tackle Jason Peters and briefly slows himself. Peters gets ready for the move, and that’s when Hunter goes for the shallow swim move against Peters’ upper body.
This move is done so effortlessly that it’s hard for me to believe it could be executed this well. Hunter’s lightning fast footwork is also breathtaking on this play, and with the easy leverage he puts heavy pressure on Carson Wentz. While he doesn’t get the sack Hunter is rewarded with a QB hit and Wentz is flagged for intentional grounding, so I guess Plan B wasn’t a bad option either.
The point I wanted to make with those two clips is that Danielle Hunter’s pace in play before the age of 25 is special. He has a versatile combination of pass rushing moves and combines them with great footwork and selling points. He’s already off to a better start to his career than Everson Griffen was, and Griffen himself has been sensational on the field recently.
And as long as Hunter stays healthy it can only get better from here. He’s got plenty of sacks left in his young, young career.