Hunter and Waynes expected to start for the Vikings this season
By Adam Patrick
A local Minnesota reporter recently wrote that the Minnesota Vikings’ starting defense should be getting a bit younger this year.
When the Minnesota Vikings head to Mankato, Minnesota for their annual training camp later this summer, a number of players on the team’s roster will be fighting to get more time on the field this season. Two members of the Vikings that appear to have already captured a spot on this year’s starting defense are defensive end Danielle Hunter and cornerback Trae Waynes.
At least according to a recent article by the Star Tribune’s Matt Vessel.
"“(Hunter) will take over as the starting left defensive end, replacing classy veteran Brian Robison, who stood up in the defensive line meeting room this spring, congratulated Hunter for leaping him on the depth chart and encouraged him to maximize his vast potential.Waynes was the man at left cornerback throughout the spring, so barring a major upset, the 2015 first-round pick will finally take the starting job away from 38-year-old Terence Newman.”More from The Viking Age6 biggest draft steals in Minnesota Vikings historyFormer Vikings first-round pick could reportedly return to NFC NorthBears analyst has extremely embarrassing Kirk Cousins take6 Vikings who (maybe) won’t make the 53-man roster in 2023Predicting what the Vikings will do in the 2023 NFL Draft based on 2022"
If this is indeed something that plays out to be true, it is a good sign for the future of Minnesota’s defense. Both Hunter and Waynes are under 25-years-old and their development as players seems to be heading in the right direction.
For Hunter, it will super intriguing to see what his numbers will look like as a full-time starter. The defensive end did not start a single game in 2016 and he was still able to finish the year with 12.5 sacks.
Last season, Waynes took advantage of starting in nine of the Vikings’ games and finished with 47 tackles, 11 pass deflections, and three interceptions. Another full offseason of teaching from Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer should result in the corner’s performance improving even more this year.
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2017 is beginning to shape up like a season of opportunities for many of the Vikings’ youngest players and Hunter and Waynes are two that should have no problem taking advantage of their increased playing time this year.