Minnesota Vikings MVPs: Wild Card round vs. New Orleans Saints

Defensive MVP – Danielle Hunter, defensive end

Earlier, the shifting of players on the defensive line was discussed and one of the players who benefited from that strategy was Danielle Hunter. Although he was getting pressure against the right tackle of New Orleans in his usual position, creating better matchups made his pass rush strong and unpredictable.

Like his counterpart Everson Griffen, Hunter was consistently getting into the backfield of the Saints to force Drew Brees into throwing before he wanted to or make adjustments to avoid pressure from multiple directions.

Of Hunter’s five tackles on the day, two of those were solo and 1.5 of those were sacks. His three hits on Brees all had an impact on the game’s outcome, but none more so than a hit that forced the football out of the quarterback’s hand, only to be recovered by Jalyn Holmes.

Adding one pass breakup to his stat line, Hunter was doing everything in this game. His freakish athleticism, amazing power, and great moves reminded a national audience why he will be a force in the league for many years.