Despite a season-ending injury to QB Kirk Cousins, the Minnesota Vikings had a great October as they fought back into playoff contention after an 0-3 start. Now, edge rusher Danielle Hunter and rookie receiver Jordan Addison have earned awards for their individual play.
Hunter’s 18 tackles, five sacks, five tackles for loss and two forced fumbles earned the star edge rusher the NFC Defensive Player of the Month award. The 29-year-old leads the league in sacks with 10 and has helped the Vikings defense improve from one of the worst in 2022 into a solid unit this season.
Hunter is the 11th different Viking to win the NFC Defensive Player of the Month award, and this marks the first time he’s won it in his career.
Addison has continued to impress in his rookie campaign, putting up 297 yards on 23 receptions with five touchdowns in the month of October, earning him the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month award. The rookie receiver stepped up in the absence of star receiver Justin Jefferson, racking 233 yards and four touchdowns on 17 receptions in three games without the all-world receiver.
Congrats @Espn_Jordan! Well deserved! https://t.co/kP4oqBEkN7
— Kirk Cousins (@KirkCousins8) November 2, 2023
Addison is the fifth different Vikings offensive rookie to win the award, joining Randy Moss, Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin and Cordarelle Patterson.
The honors don’t end there for Addison. CBS Sports named Addison to their midseason All-Rookie team, saying:
“Addison has done a marvelous job stepping into the No. 1 wideout role in Minnesota after the serious hamstring injury Justin Jefferson suffered weeks ago. He has seven touchdowns on the season and has worked diligently to improve his separation ability against press coverage that hampered his productivity in September. Addison also has not dropped a pass entering Week 9.
The Vikings’ receiver wasn’t the only on the team to make the list. Undrafted rookie linebacker Ivan Pace also made CBS’ All-Rookie team. Pace was the only undrafted rookie to make the list.
“The rookie class of linebackers doesn’t have a true stud halfway through 2023 — except a second-level defender who wasn’t drafted at all in Pace,” CBS Sports said.
“The blitzing extraordinaire has been too good for Minnesota to keep him off the field to begin his NFL career. He’s logged the third-most snaps among rookie linebackers and has easily been the most consistent in all phases of playing the position. Pace has registered nine pressures on 55 pass-rush snaps and has only missed two tackles. So much for being too small.”
