Daniel Hunter

On September 9, 2020, Hunter was placed on injured reserve with a neck injury. He underwent season-ending surgery to clean up a herniated disk in his neck.

In week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons, Hunter recorded his first sack of the season on Matt Ryan as the Vikings won 28–12. In week 2 against the Green Bay Packers, Hunter sacked Aaron Rodgers once in the 21–16 loss. In week 3 against the Oakland Raiders, Hunter sacked Derek Carr once in the 34–14 win. In week 5 against the New York Giants, Hunter sacked rookie quarterback Daniel Jones twice in the 28–10 win. In week 7 against the Detroit Lions, Hunter recorded 3 tackles and sacked Matthew Stafford once in the 42–30 win. In week 8 against the Washington Redskins, Hunter recorded a strip sack on Case Keenum that was recovered by teammate Shamar Stephen in the 19–9 win. In week 14 against the Lions, Hunter sacked rookie quarterback David Blough 3 times in the 20–7 win, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week. In the game, Hunter became the youngest player in NFL history to reach 50 sacks. In week 15 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Hunter sacked quarterback Philip Rivers once, forced a fumble on running back Melvin Gordon which was recovered by Harrison Smith, and recovered a fumble forced by Shamar Stephen on Gordon during the 39–10 win. Hunter finished the regular season with 70 tackles, 14.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery in 16 games started. On December 17, 2019, Hunter was nominated to play in his second straight Pro Bowl.

On June 27, 2018, Hunter signed a five-year, $72 million extension with the Vikings with $40 million guaranteed and a $15 million signing bonus. Hunter had a strong start to the 2018 season, recording at least one sack in each of the Vikings' first seven games, including 2 sacks against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 6. In Week 9, Hunter recorded a career-high 3.5 sacks, nine tackles, and returned a fumble recovery 32-yards for a touchdown in a 24-9 win over the Detroit Lions, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week. In that same game, the Vikings set a new franchise record with 10 sacks. Hunter would finish the 2018 season with 72 total tackles, 14.5 sacks, 21 tackles for loss, and one fumble recovery for a touchdown. Hunter's 14.5 sacks tied him with Von Miller for fourth most in the NFL. For these efforts, Hunter was awarded his first trip to the Pro Bowl, where he recorded a sack against Andrew Luck. In addition to the Pro Bowl nomination, Hunter was also named Second-Team All-Pro by the Associated Press, and First-Team All-Pro by Sporting News and the PFWA.

In his first career start, Hunter had four tackles, half a sack and was credited with a forced fumble in the Vikings’ 16-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in week 6. The forced fumble ended the Chiefs’ second-to-last drive of the game. In week 8 against the Chicago Bears, Hunter recorded a sack and a tackle. In week 15, Hunter continued to see an expanded role on the defensive line as he played 48 of 64 snaps in the Vikings' blowout win over the Chicago Bears 38-17, recording 1.5 sacks and five total tackles. Hunter finished the season with 33 total tackles (29 of them solo), 10 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks, 25 quarterback pressures, 1 pass defensed and a forced fumble. On January 19, 2016, Hunter was named to the Pro Football Writers of America's (PFWA) 2015 NFL All-Rookie team.

Following his junior season, Hunter entered the 2015 NFL Draft. Described as a defensive end with tremendous athletic upside and a good motor, Hunter was often compared to Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul in terms of his similar length, burst and potential.

As a sophomore in 2013, Hunter played in 13 games, starting 10 of them after breaking into the starting lineup on September 21 against Auburn. In that game, his first start, he recorded a then career-best eight tackles and a quarterback hurry in a 35-21 win over the eventual national runner-up. He had an outstanding all-around game in a win over Florida with seven tackles, one tackle for loss and two pass breakups. He closed the year with four tackles, including a sack for a 4-yard loss, in the win over Iowa in the 2014 Outback Bowl. Hunter finished the season with 57 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, five quarterback hurries and a pair of pass breaksups.

Hunter attended Louisiana State University from 2012 to 2014, where he was a two-year starter at defensive end for the Tigers. He played in 38 games with 23 starts in three years, and started 23 straight games at defensive end. He opted to forgo his final season at LSU and declared for the 2015 NFL Draft in January 2015. He finished his college career with 142 tackles, 21.0 tackles for loss (79 yards), 4.5 sacks (27 yards), eight pass breakups, seven quarterback hurries, and two forced fumbles (including a touchdown on a 25-yard fumble return).

In track & field, Hunter competed in both sprinting and jumping events. Checking in at 6'6", 225-pounds, Hunter captured the district title in the high jump with a leap of 1.83 meters (6 feet, 0 inches), while also placing 5th in the long jump with a leap of 6.40 meters (20 feet, 11.5 inches) and 6th in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.47 seconds at the 2011 District Meet.

Hunter returned as a starter for his junior year in 2014. For the first time in his career, he played and started all 13 games for the Tigers, contributing as a key member of an LSU defense that led the SEC in total yards (316.8 Y/G) and pass defense (164.2 Y/G) and ranked No. 2 in the league in scoring defense with 17.5 points per game. In the season opener game, he helped the Tiger defense limit Wisconsin to 32 yards on 19 plays over the final 27 minutes of the contest as LSU erased a 17-point deficit to beat the Badgers 28-24. Against Mississippi State, he had six tackles, a sack and scooped up a Dak Prescott fumble on the first play of the second half, racing 25 yards for a touchdown. After setting a career-high in tackles with 12 against Auburn in week 4, he became the first LSU defensive lineman with double-digit tackles in a game since Glenn Dorsey had 11 tackles against Ole Miss on November 28, 2006. He was the first LSU defender to score on a fumble return since Tyrann Mathieu did it on a 23-yard return in win over Kentucky on October 1, 2011. In LSU's win over Kentucky in week 8, he had one of his best all-around games with six tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, a quarterback hurry and three pass breakups. He played a key role in LSU's upset win over third-ranked Ole Miss with nine tackles, including two for losses, in a 10-7 win over the Rebels. He closed out season with nine tackles, including one for a 4-yard loss, against Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl. For the season, Hunter recorded 73 tackles, including 30 solo stops, 1.5 sacks, six pass breakups and a pair of quarterback hurries. His 13.0 tackles for loss ranked 10th in the SEC.

Danielle Hunter (/d ə ˈ n iː l / də-NEEL ; born October 29, 1994) is a Jamaican professional American football defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU. He was drafted in the third round, 88th overall in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Hunter was rated as the No. 37 prospect in the state of Texas. He was also ranked as the 14th best defensive end by Scout.com, 21st by Rivals.com and 34th by ESPN.com.