Getty Head coach Kevin O'Connell of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Minnesota Vikings need help at edge rusher with their two starters on the verge of free agency — and former No. 2 overall pick Chase Young could be an answer.
Bleacher Report’s staff pitched Young as a potential free-agency add in March that would help remedy the potential of losing D.J. Wonnum and Danielle Hunter, whose contracts expire at the end of the 2023 season.
Young hasn’t quite lived up to his 2020 draft status in, but he is enjoying a comeback campaign coming off an ACL tear in 2021, tying a career-high 7.5 sacks this season between the Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers after being traded in November.
Depending on how the Vikings construct the roster with big-money decisions pending on Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson and Hunter, Young could be an ideal buy-low candidate this offseason.
“In a way, Young could provide the best of both worlds as he’ll be 25 years old in April and is a good player who can help the team win right away,” Bleacher Report’s pitch reads.
49ers’ Chase Young Flashes Consistency After ACL Injury
GettyDefensive end Chase Young of the San Francisco 49ers.
The 2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year, Young hasn’t quite matched that season that was filled with big-play potential. He had four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, a fumble return touchdown and 10 tackles for loss, playing up to his four-year, $34.5 million rookie deal.
But what Young is missing in the flashy, more fleeting statistics, he’s made up for with consistency. He boasts a career-high 19% pass-rush win rate that ranks 15th among all edge rushers this season, per ESPN.
Had Young stayed in Washington, where he tallied 5.0 sacks in seven games, he likely would have smashed his career-high mark of 7.5 sacks that he posted his rookie year.
Playing in a more rotational role in San Francisco, Young is still seeing success with the 49ers despite only tallying 2.5 sacks in eight games. He has 62 pressures on the season, which ranks 18th among all edge rushers despite playing only 54% of defensive snaps since his trade.
He admitted this summer he was feeling “explosive again” for the first time since his knee injury almost two years ago, and the comeback season he’s put together is evidence of that.
Spotrac projected Young to have a market value of $13.6 million per year and projects him to garner a two-year, $27 million contract in the offseason.
Vikings’ Prospects of Keeping Danielle Hunter, D.J. Wonnum
GettyOutside linebacker Danielle Hunter (left) and teammate D.J. Wonnum (right) of the Minnesota Vikings.
Chase could be a welcomed addition to the Vikings edge rusher room and could slot in as either the No. 1 or No. 2 edge rusher depending on the decisions the team is facing with Hunter and Wonnum.
Hunter is enjoying a career year and could drive a steep market that the Vikings can’t afford to match. Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger projected Hunter to garner a three-year, $65 million deal with an average annual value of $21.67 million. That would be a bargain considering Hunter’s 15.5 sacks are fifth in the league while the premium edge rushers in the league are pushing deals close to $30 million a year.
KSTP’s Darren Wolfson has maintained that Hunter likes Minnesota and could take a team discount, but the Vikings will have to meet him halfway if the market is there for Hunter.
Meanwhile, Wonnum, a former fourth-round pick, tied a career-high 8.0 sacks this season that would have driven up his price in free agency before a torn pectoral muscle in Week 16 derailed his prospects as a free agent.
As unfortunate as the injury is for Wonnum, it does make a better case for the Vikings to re-sign him by having the book on his medical history.
It will be interesting to see how the Vikings replenish the edge rusher position considering Hunter, Wonnum and Marcus Davenport‘s contracts expire in March.