2022 Free Agency Outlook: DL

New Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said that he connected with Hunter and they talked about travel — “one of those things you love about an NFL relationship.”

“Really good player. Incredible person,” Adofo-Mensah said. “He is a really good football player, and to build championship teams you need a lot of really good football players. He is somebody who we want to continue to work with going forward, and we’re excited to talk through all of the possibilities with that.”

Donatell was quickly asked about Hunter’s potential role and said he’ll be an “outside linebacker/defensive end.”

Both Donatell and Head Coach Kevin O’Connell have de-emphasized the 3-4 vs. 4-3 construct because of how often the Vikings expect to be in the nickel defense this season.

“When change happens, there’s a lot of uncertainty and some people are uncomfortable with change. But we welcome that, that’s a good thing. That’s opportunity,” Donatell said. “We don’t know where we’re going right now exactly. There’s so much that our staff has to do and [I have] to do to learn our players, to learn our talents, to learn their minds. Our emphasis right now is to learn our people. And when you learn our people, you can take them somewhere, and that’s what our intention is.”

Incoming defensive line coach Chris Rumph coached Tomlinson at Alabama and has worked with some powerful interior linemen in recent years, including Bears DT Akiem Hicks last season.

WHO’S POTENTIALLY OUT THERE?

NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal recently released his list of the top 101 potential free agents, with 24 edge rushers/defensive linemen/defensive tackles making the initial group.

The following edge rushers and defensive linemen are listed in order of their overall rankings: 3. Von Miller (edge), 5. Chandler Jones (edge), 9. Emmanuel Ogbah (edge), 16. Randy Gregory (edge), 17. Jadeveon Clowney (edge), 20. Calais Campbell (DL), 22. Haason Reddick (edge), 23. Melvin Ingram (edge), 27. D.J. Jones (DT), 28. Jerry Hughes (edge), 30. Hicks (DL), 46. Bilal Nichols (DL), 55. Foley Fatukasi (DT), 57. Justin Houston (edge), 63. Derek Barnett (edge), 67. Arden Key (edge), 68. Uchenna Nwosu (edge), 69. Sebastian Joseph-Day (DL), 70. B.J. Hill (DL), 72. Richardson (DT), 73. Ndamukong Suh (DL), 88. Larry Ogunjobi (DT), 92. Lorenzo Carter (edge) and 98. Harrison Phillips (DT)

The players listed by Rosenthal range from Miller, the Super Bowl 50 MVP who helped the Rams win it all last month after he was traded to Los Angeles, to veterans nearing the ends of their careers and some players who are still possibly heading toward their peaks.