NFL free agency preview: What can Vikings do if Danielle Hunter leaves?

The Vikings need talent. Their first path opens next week with NFL free agency, when players can begin agreeing to terms with new teams starting 11 a.m. CT on Monday. Those contracts cannot be officially signed until 3 p.m. CT on Wednesday, when the NFL’s 2024 league year begins. This week, we will focus on the position groups where the Vikings have the biggest needs.

Day 1: Interior defensive linemen

Day 2: Running backs

(All pressure and run stop data comes via Pro Football Focus; salary cap figures courtesy of Over the Cap.)

The Vikings got 27½ sacks from their group of edge rushers in 2023. Just one of those sacks came from a player who is under contract for 2024. Whether because of minimal draft investment in recent years, development issues, injuries or expiring contracts, the Vikings head into 2024 with a major need for pass rush help.

Current roster: Pat Jones II, Andre Carter II

Pending free agents: Danielle Hunter, Marcus Davenport, D.J. Wonnum

Current salary cap invested: $24.2 million, 18th in NFL

Danielle Hunter (Vikings): It wouldn’t be cheap, but perhaps the most straightforward way for the Vikings to solve their pass-rushing problem would be to bring back the free-agency target they can sign before anyone else. Hunter thrived in Brian Flores’ system, finishing the year with a career-high 16½ sacks, and the team has shown interest in bringing him back on a new deal. But with Hunter set to hit the open market for the first time in his career, after playing on a deal his camp regarded as outdated, the Vikings would have to commit big money to keep the 29-year-old in Minnesota.

Chase Young (49ers): A former No. 2 overall pick in the draft, Young played just 12 games from 2021-22 after a torn ACL, before the Commanders traded him to San Francisco last season. He’s a dynamic pass rusher who could be available on a prove-it deal. Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has shown a willingness to bet on those types of players, and Young, who had 74 pressures in 536 pass-rush snaps, could show the kind of potential that piques the Vikings’ interest.

Jonathan Greenard (Texans): Greenard would be expensive, but at age 26, he could be worth the investment: He’s proven himself to be a capable run defender, with the eighth-best run stop rate in the league among edge players last season, and he broke out with 12½ sacks in DeMeco Ryans’ defense last year. If the Vikings are willing to invest in a fixture for their pass-rushing group, Greenard could make sense.

Bryce Huff (Jets): The fact that Huff posted 10½ sacks in his contract year, at age 25, could make him an expensive target in free agency, and the Vikings might need to work with him as a run defender. But Huff posted a pass-rush win rate of 29.1% last season, seventh among edge defenders. That alone could make him attractive to the Vikings, who had just one player (Hunter) with a win rate above 14% last year.

Andrew Van Ginkel (Dolphins): An affordable player who did some of his best work in Flores’ defense with Miami, Van Ginkel is just 242 pounds, and might be better as a situational player. But he’s quick off the line and has thrived in Flores’ deceptive scheme, as Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell and offensive coordinator Wes Phillips know well from the 2020 game where Van Ginkel had a 78-yard fumble recovery TD, as well as a quarterback hit and a pass breakup, in Miami’s victory over the Rams.