When the Vikings drafted South Carolina defensive end D.J. Wonnum in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, many considered it a stretch.
Wonnum has the physical tools (6’5, 258 pounds), but is rather raw and had just 4.5 sacks last season.
Even so, Wonnum has to remind Vikings’ fans a little bit of Danielle Hunter, who the Vikings drafted in the third round out of LSU in 2015. At that time, Hunter was also considered a project.
Hunter became the youngest player in NFL history to hit the 50-sack mark in 2019 so you could say that project worked out quite well.
“You know, Coach (Andre) Patterson saw something in me that were some of things he saw in Danielle Hunter,” Wonnum said via the Pioneer Press. “I’m just excited to be able to learn from one of the best pass rushers in the league right now.”
Maybe drafting someone who was ready to go now would have made more sense for a Vikings team that is likely to lose Everson Griffen to free agency, but if Wonnum can become 60 percent of the player Hunter is, getting him in the fourth round is going to look like a steal.