Minnesota star pass-rusher has been connected to the Silver and Black
Adding a player who registered 16.5 sacks to a Las Vegas Raiders’ pass-rush that made big strides in the 2023 season is a pretty tantalizing idea.
Is it possible?
NFL.com thinks it is. It recently looked for the best fits for some of the top prospective free agents (players can agree with new teams starting next Monday) and paired Minnesota Vikings’ pass-rusher Danielle Hunter with the Raiders in free agency.
Maxx Crosby and Hunter?
Wow.
That has big potential to be the special pass-rush tandem the Raiders sought with Yannick Ngakoue and Chandler Jones with Crosby in recent seasons.
Hunter, who turns 30 in October, had a monster season with in 2023 with the Vikings who has has spent his entire nine-season career with since being a third-round pick out of LSU in 2015. His 16.5 sacks were a career-high. But Hunter has been extremely consistent. He had had, at least, 14.5 sacks in a season three times and has registered double-digit sacks in five different seasons.
Considering that Malcolm Koonce broke out with eight sacks in 2023 and Crosby is an elite player at his position and (the team has high hopes for 2023 first-round pick Tyree Wilson), adding Hunter would make the Raiders’ pass-rush a nightmare for opposing offensive lines to deal with.
Securing Hunter won’t be easy because he’s expected to have a robust market if he hits free agency. Plus, the Raiders have other needs and may decide to give Koonce a new big deal to keep him from the market in 2025.
Yet, overall, the idea of Hunter donning the Silver and Black is intriguing to say the least.