Minnesota Vikings: 3 Players that need to step up in Danielle Hunter’s absence
3. Shamar Stephen
The first player that will have to step up to help the Vikings’ defensive line as an entire unit is Minnesota starting defensive tackle Shamar Stephen.
Although he won’t be lining up at defensive end, which is where Hunter plays, Stephen will be relied upon to step up and help the defensive line to fill a hole left behind by Hunter. Without Hunter, this will be a group effort for Minnesota.
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With a few defensive tackles shifting around the depth chart and a few players missing that would be in that slot in a normal season, Stephen will be tasked with the opportunity of becoming a starting lineman at his position in 2020 and perhaps beyond.
Stephen, who turned 29 years old in February, will be entering his seventh season in the NFL and sixth with the Vikings after breaking into the league as a seventh-round draft pick in 2014.
In 2019, Stephen appeared and started in 15 of the 16 games for Minnesota, his second season in a row that he was able to slide into more of a starting role after getting that initial experience with the Seattle Seahawks in 2018 before returning to Minnesota in 2019. During the year, he ended up with 21 combined tackles, 15 solo tackles, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Stephen will be key for the Vikings defense in helping the unit make up for the absence of Hunter this season, as will others on the defensive line as it will be a group effort to replace a Pro Bowl defensive lineman like Hunter on the outside of the line.