For years, the Detroit Lions have looked for an edge rusher to pair with Aidan Hutchinson. Last offseason, that search led them to former Minnesota Vikings defensive end D.J. Wonnum, who spent his first four seasons with the Vikings after being a fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft.
While Wonnum also spent the 2024 and 2025 seasons with the Carolina Panthers, he tied his career-high with eight sacks and set a career-best 62 total tackles in his final season as a Viking, which allowed him to leave in free agency.
But the latest chapter of his career has him making an impact for the Lions and it could set the stage for a revenge game when the Vikings visit Detroit in Week 8.
Former Minnesota Vikings DL D.J. Wonnum has been a solid pickup for the Detroit Lions
Through six games for the Lions this season. Wonnum has a tied for a team-high with five sacks. In Week 7 against the Green Bay Packers, on his way to NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, his most impactful play was a blocked field goal that set up a game-winning fourth-quarter drive.
Coincidentally or not, Wonnum had all five of his sacks in the three games before Week 7, but he's been putting heat on opposing quarterbacks. From a sheer availability standpoint, which has been a big issue for non-Hutchinson Lions edge rushers, as general manager Brad Holmes has lived in the bargain bin, he is already a solid win as a 2026 free-agent signing for Detroit.
Hutchinson has been a stud again this season, but having a healthy teammate who can get after the quarterback on the opposite edge has surely helped and it creates another player the Vikings must account for while also knowing he may have plenty of motivation for a big game.
D.J. Wonnum has created a Vikings' revenge game no one could've seen coming
In 2023, Wonnum had that aforementioned eight-sack season in Brian Flores' first season as the Vikings' defensive coordinator. Then, he was clearly deemed replaceable in favor of a hand-picked Flores free-agent signing: Andrew Van Ginkel. Jonathan Greenard also added to the Vikings' edge-rusher mix in that free-agent run, and Dallas Turner was drafted in the first round that April.
The Vikings are surely happy with the results they've gotten from Van Ginkel and Turner. Greenard delivered a Pro Bowl season in 2024, before being banged up last season and being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles last offseason.
As part of their 2024 offseason plan, the Vikings just didn't have room to give Wonnum the role another team could. Carolina gave him a multi-year deal, and he was gone.
Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson is in position for a revenge game against the team that drafted him this week. Wonnum, based on what he has done for the Lions so far this season, has come out of nowhere to get his own revenge for Sunday.
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