Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith might end up being the real-life version of the Bash Brothers for the Minnesota Vikings defense.
And of course, I’m talking about Dean Portman and Fulton Reed.
Much of the offseason excitement has surrounded the pairing of two dynamic pass-rushers coming off both edges and terrifying opposing quarterbacks. After witnessing the two together in the spring practices, legendary cornerback Patrick Peterson admitted he’s never been on the same team with pass-rushers of that caliber before.
Granted, they’re both coming off season-ending injuries, but there’s no doubt they can wreck a pocket and ruin an offensive game plan, if their health permits.
At the first training camp practice on Wednesday, the star duo posed for a picture together as a teaser for fans.
Danielle Hunter, Za'Darius Smith and Mike Smith pose for @floresliz12 at today's practice pic.twitter.com/aHSuCtYOcE
— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) July 27, 2022
Before the injury setbacks, Hunter put together back-to-back seasons with 14.5 sacks in 2018 and 2019, while Smith had 13.5 sacks in 2019 and 12.5 sacks in 2020 with the Green Bay Packers.
Both players are two-time Pro Bowlers.
The hope is that they can stay together on the field and cut down on the internal clock for quarterbacks in the pocket. A strong pass-rush would help alleviate many of the lingering concerns on the backend of the defense. It’s much harder to pick apart a defensive backfield when the quarterback has less time to throw.
With edges flanked by both Hunter and Smith, the Vikings now have their own wrecking crew to go to work with on defense.
