Danielle Hunter expected to earn his first Pro Bowl invite

In his fourth season with the Minnesota Vikings, the young defensive end is currently leading all NFC defensive ends in Pro Bowl votes.

When the Minnesota Vikings decided to use a third-round pick on LSU defensive end Danielle Hunter in the 2015 NFL Draft, there were some who had their doubts about the selection. And rightfully so, especially since Hunter only managed to rack up a total of 4.5 sacks during his three years of college football.

But after compiling 18.5 sacks during his first two seasons with the Vikings, any doubts about him were quickly erased.

This year, Hunter has taken full advantage of his role as a starter on Minnesota’s defense. Through 13 games, the 24-year-old defensive end has a total of 59 quarterback pressures, which includes 12.5 sacks.

Hunter’s total pressures is the most of any Vikings player this year and they are also the fourth-most among edge defenders in the NFL this season. Only two players (Aaron Donald and Von Miller) have more sacks than the young Minnesota pass rusher in 2018.

Thanks to his impressive performance so far this year, Hunter appears to be on the verge of earning his first ever invite to the Pro Bowl.

Voting for this season’s Pro Bowl ends on Friday and as of Thursday, the Vikings defender has more votes than any NFC defensive end.

For a conference that includes a number of talented pass-rushing specialists like Chandler Jones, DeMarcus Lawrence, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Cameron Jordan, Hunter earning more votes than anyone in his position group says a lot about how impressive he has been this year.

Based on the way his first four seasons in Minnesota have turned out, the young defensive end should expect this to be the first of many Pro Bowl invites to come his way during his career in the NFL.

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