Minnesota Vikings: 8 Bold Predictions for the 2020 Season
By Chris Schad
Hunter and Ngakoue will combine for 30 sacks
The Vikings defensive line was one of the areas that needed the biggest overhaul this offseason. With Everson Griffen and Linval Joseph departing for greener pastures, the Vikings needed to find some new faces to replace the old guard. After a couple of weeks of Stacy Keely and Eddie Yarborough getting first-team reps, the Vikings struck by trading for Yannick Ngakoue.
The duo of Ngakoue and Danielle Hunter should be downright scary for opposing offensive linemen. Hunter has been a machine and has collected 14.5 sacks in each of the past two seasons. Even with Hunter nursing a “tweak” during training camp, he should be good to go once the regular season begins.
Having Hunter alone was great news for the Vikings pass-rush, but now they get another quality pass-rusher in Ngakoue. In four seasons in the NFL, Ngakoue has never registered less than eight sacks. What’s more impressive is that Ngakoue didn’t want to play last season after Jacksonville didn’t offer him an extension and he still went out and got eight sacks.
Ngakoue isn’t much of a run stuffer, but that’s not what the Vikings went out and got him for. With the chance to now work under co-defensive coordinator and defensive line wizard Andre Patterson, there’s a chance that Ngakoue has only scratched the surface of what he can do.
Although there’s work to be done on the interior defensive line, both Hunter and Ngakoue should be key pieces of the Vikings defense for years to come.