Getty Images Could Vikings Pro Bowler Danielle Hunter be Big Blue's missing piece?
The New York Giants could use some additional pass rushing help.
Why not go after a three-time Pro Bowler?
Big Blue should have Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter squarely on its radar, according to Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger. A trade could materialize if Minnesota is still shedding payroll after letting several veterans go like Za’Darius Smith, Adam Thielen, and Dalvin Cook.
The Vikings are fielding trade calls for Hunter, according to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport. Other interested teams could include the Broncos, Texans, Bears, Panthers, Falcons, and Saints, per Spielberger.
Hunter, 28, is currently holding out of Vikings minicamp in search of a new contract. But in New York, he would instantly become the Giants’ most accomplished edge defender.
The 6-foot-5, 263-pounder has 71 sacks in 102 career games. He tallied 10.5 sacks last season, his fourth year with double-digit sacks in eight years. And with last season’s 86.3 overall grade, PFF’s Marcus Mosher named him as the Vikings’ “biggest surprise.”
“Hunter played 905 snaps for the Vikings, racking up 70 pressures to go along with 12 sacks,” Mosher wrote. “He’s back to being an elite edge rusher and one of the most feared defensive ends in the league.”
New York’s current pass rush lacks that serious fear factor.
The team expects bigger production out of rushers Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari. But that duo combined for one sack less than Hunter had last year as they both battled nagging lower-body injuries. And behind those starters, pass rushers like Jihad Ward, Oshane Ximines, Tomon Fox, and Elerson Smith are depth pieces, not starters.
Hunter would immediately start on Big Blue’s front — but prying him from the Vikings might not be easy. Here’s what you need to know about New York’s potential new trade target.
Giants Staffer Has ‘Deep Connection’ To Vikings’ Danielle Hunter
New York would know exactly how to deploy Hunter in its defense.
That’s because defensive line coach Andre Patterson was Hunter’s first positional coach, per Big Blue View’s Ed Valentine. The two have a relationship that dates back to the 2015 NFL draft, according to a profile on Hunter by The Athletic’s Chad Graff.
Patterson was “so impressed by (Hunter’s) interview” at the NFL Combine that he bumped his draft grade from a fifth-round projection to a third-round projection. And when Patterson scouted Arizona State’s Pro Day, Hunter drove from his nearby pre-draft training just to visit him.
“He drove all the way to see me,” Patterson told Graff. “And, well, you stand around a long time at pro days just waiting. So I stood there and talked to him for probably an hour and a half. When I left there, I changed my grade again and gave him a second-round grade. I came back and said, ‘I have to have this guy.’ Everybody else was just going off the film so it was a major argument in the room. They didn’t know what I knew. Fortunately, he proved me right.”
That deep relationship might prove useful to the Giants in a trade scenario. So might Hunter’s “position change” in 2022.
Hunter “spend most of his career playing as a hand-in-the-ground” 403 defensive end, per Valentine. But last season, Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell stood Hunter up. He played 927 of his 966 defensive snaps as an outside linebacker — the exact position he’d play in defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s scheme.
Martindale should know Hunter’s system fit. Patterson knows Hunter’s elite skill set and personality. Combined, both defensive coaches can vouch for the eight-year veteran if trade interest ever becomes serious.
What Would It Coast Giants To Trade For Vikings’ Danielle Hunter?
New York might have to pay three times over for a player of Hunter’s caliber.
First, it’d have to surrender draft picks. Spielberger believes the Vikings would “fight hard” for a future second-round pick as compensation, but might settle for two third-rounders. Valentine thinks the cost could be even lower based on Minnesota’s Smith trade.
“The Vikings sent Smith and 2025 sixth- and seventh-round picks to the Browns in exchange for fifth-round selections in 2024 and 2025,” Valentine wrote. “Could the Giants get Hunter for something similar? Perhaps a 2024 fourth-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick? Or, a fourth-round pick and the tantalizing but often-injured edge defender Elerson Smith?”
Even if the Giants trade for Hunter at a bargain, they’d still have to pay him handsomely.
Rapoport believes Hunter likely wants a “long-term, big-money pay day.” He’s currently due $5.5 million in the last season of a five-year, $72 million deal he singed in 2018, per Spotrac.
New York only has $3.82 million in current cap space, according to OverThe Cap. They’d have to be creative with other contracts to bring Hunter on.
According to Valentine, one potential solution could appear if New York extends Saquon Barkley — and if Barkley’s first-year cap number is low.
“The Giants will gain cap space if and when they agree to a long-term deal with Saquon Barkley, lowering the $10.091 million cap hit under the franchise tag,” Valentine wrote. “As they did with Darren Waller when they acquired him, the Giants could also negotiate an extension with Hunter that would lower his 2023 cap hit. The finances, then, appear workable.”
Of course, trading for another holdout might anger the team’s current one.
Barkley told reporters he’s seeking a respectful resolution to his own contract demands. A move to add — and then compensate — another star could easily be perceived as disrespect.
In short: New York walks a tough tightrope by showing trade interest in Hunter. The potential upside, though, is incredible for a team looking to solidify its playoff hopes in 2023.
