Minnesota Vikings 3 most underrated moves of 2022 offseason

Minnesota Vikings underrated move no. 3: EDGE Za’Darius Smith

Not only was signing veteran pass rusher Za’Darius Smith an underrated move by the Minnesota Vikings in 2022 — it was one of the luckiest moves of the 2022 offseason.

Smith was supposed to re-sign with the Ravens, but that fell through and he wound up signing with the Vikings after playing just one game last season due to injury.

The Vikings plucked Smith away from a division rival to give themselves one of the most underrated pairs of pass rushers in the NFL.

Smith joins Danielle Hunter, who has been an absolute game wrecker when healthy.

The trick is going to be getting both of these guys healthy.

There’s an obvious concern after Smith missed almost all of last season and Hunter played only seven games.

The last time these two were fully healthy was in 2020 and in that season, Smith had 12.5 sacks and Hunter had 14.5 sacks.

The Vikings are obviously holding out hope that they can get the best out of these two guys now that Smith is going to be 30 this season while Hunter is 27 going on 28.

Having this kind of veteran duo in the pass rush department will be huge for the Vikings’ secondary, which has an intriguing blend of youth and veteran leadership.

The Vikings brought back Patrick Peterson at cornerback, they have Harrison Smith, and they used two of their top picks in the 2022 NFL Draft on safety Lewis Cine and cornerback Andrew Booth Jr.

Regardless of the price point, I think the Minnesota Vikings did really well to get Smith in the fold and I think he’s going to bring a much-needed presence to this defensive unit.