'Inseparable' Duo of Danielle Hunter, Za'Darius Smith Preparing to Wreak Havoc in 2022
Attend any Vikings practice this offseason, and it won't take long before you see them. Danielle Hunter and Za'Darius Smith, Minnesota's two star edge rushers, are seemingly always together, whether they're warming up, doing drills, or just chatting off to the side. If you see 99, 55 is probably nearby, and vice versa.
The Vikings' big free agency splash in GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's first year was signing Smith, the former two-time Pro Bowler for the Packers who gave the Vikings all kinds of problems during rivalry games. Suddenly, after inking Smith to a three-year deal, the roster featured not one, but two premiere pass rushers coming off major injuries.
As they've spent the spring months preparing for a return to action and their first season playing together, Hunter and Smith have grown extremely close as people, not just football players. However, it wasn't like that right away, according to their position coach, Vikings outside linebackers coach Mike Smith.
"It was funny because early on, Danielle was really quiet," Smith said. "He just kind of kept to himself, (and) me and Z were kind of looking at each other. And it was funny, D said well, because the way Z plays, he said 'I thought you were going to be a mean and angry guy. Then I realized you're a good person.' So after that first week, man, they're inseparable. And that's good. That's how it needs to be. Really, that's the whole defense. When all those guys up front are a family and they work together and all that type of good stuff, that's when it clicks."
Hunter and Za'Darius Smith already had a bit of a relationship prior to Smith signing with the Vikings. They came out of the SEC together in the 2015 draft class, with neither one being selected in the first two rounds. After dominant 2019 seasons in which they finished first and second in the NFL in total pressures, the two spent some time catching up at the Pro Bowl in Orlando.
But the two and a half months since Smith was signed have given them the opportunity to be around each other on a daily basis and connect on a deeper level. Smith, who played OLB in a 3-4 base defense in Green Bay, has helped Hunter in his transition to that role after Hunter spent the first seven seasons of his career primarily as a 4-3, hand-on-the-ground defensive end. And there's plenty that Smith can learn from Hunter, who became the youngest player in NFL history to reach 50 career sacks back in 2019.
"I think they're going to help each other," Mike Smith said. "I think they both play well off each other. They both kind of bring a different kind of skill set when you watch them, but it's good to have both of them."
One of the things that made Za'Darius Smith so successful in Green Bay was the unique way the Packers used him. Smith was constantly moving around the defensive front in a role called the "rover," finding the best individual matchup on the other team's offensive line and taking advantage of it. Whether that was one of the tackles, a guard, or the center, Smith would find the weak link and dominate that player.
Mike Smith, like Za'Darius, came over from the Packers this offseason, along with Vikings assistant head coach Mike Pettine. Those two coaches helped create the rover role for 'Z', and now they're doing the same with 'D.' Hunter has spent most of his career lining up at the same left defensive end spot on every snap, and, to be fair, had a ton of success doing that. The Vikings think moving him around this season can make him even more dangerous, especially with Smith out there next to him.
"What's great with this package and what we've done through the years is those guys are going to be rushing inside," Smith said. "I think that's one thing that Danielle and those guys love, is I want big, athletic pass rushers. You guys can look at my history and where I've been, I'm gonna put my best on your worst. Danielle loves it — you're gonna be over the center, you're gonna be over the guard. You're not playing just one side or the other, which at times they've been used to here. It doesn't work like that."
"The one package we have where you see Z rushing up the middle and doing that type of stuff, now [Danielle's] getting to do it and he’s like a kid in a candy shop. He gets to move around. Now he gets to understand that once you get everything built and once you learn all these protections, why it’s so beneficial. You’ve got a really athletic guy and most guards aren’t very athletic. They are athletic because they’re in the NFL, but not like those tackles. So that was the thing with Z in Green Bay is you’re going against this guy and I’m going to give you the one-on-one, so go win."
The Vikings are going to be in a 4-2 nickel defense most of the time, so the transition is mostly about how things change when Hunter begins every play without a hand on the ground. It hasn't been an overly difficult adjustment for him. Last month, Hunter was quick to point out that he's been a stand-up rusher before, and that the Vikings actually played a lot of 3-4 in Week 2 against the Cardinals last season, a game in which he had three sacks. There are little details and differences that he's continuing to work on, but as Smith said, Hunter is a "phenomenal athlete," so this isn't anything he can't handle.
Health is going be to a key factor for both Hunter and Za'Darius Smith. Hunter missed all of 2020 with a herniated disc that required surgery, then missed the final ten games of last season after tearing his pectoral muscle. Smith missed almost all of 2021 with a back injury. But if the two can stay healthy, they're going to be the driving force on a Vikings defense that has a lot of talent. Having both of them on the field at once — and constantly moving them around to exploit the weaknesses of the opposing offensive line — will make things extremely tough on offenses, while creating opportunities for other members of the Vikings' defensive front.
Not only that, but Hunter and Smith have also taken on leadership roles, mentoring young edge rushers like D.J. Wonnum, Patrick Jones II, and Janarius Robinson and helping them grow.
"I think those [two] guys respect the games of the other guy," said head coach Kevin O'Connell. "They set a phenomenal standard for that outside 'backer room of not only what we’re looking for from a consistency standpoint, but to be leaders and playmakers on our football team to help us go win."
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