30 non-QBs who should be in MVP consideration for the 2024 season

23. Danielle Hunter, Houston Texans

This one might surprise some, but Danielle Hunter is an incredible player, and he just joined the perfect team to accentuate his strengths. When he left the Minnesota Vikings this offseason, most expected him to get paid. However, few expected him to find the kind of fit he found with the Houston Texans.

Pairing Hunter with DeMeco Ryans and an already fun defense should see him numbers skyrocket. He’s already coming off his best season, producing 16.5 sacks for the Vikes last season despite the rest of the defense not being the best. The Vikings did bring the blitz more often than any defense in the league, and the Texans actually produced the sixth-fewest blitzes in 2023. 

However, this is about the growth we’ll see from Hunter under Ryans. He turned Jonathan Greenard into a great pass rusher. Hunter is a great pass rusher without Ryans. With him, he could become a star. While we like Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Ryans is in a league of his own. He’s already 29 years old, so he’s late into his career, but this Texans partnership could extend his career and make him even better.

We’d also have to have one of those great seasons from the Texans for it to work that way. He also has Will Anderson to take a ton of pressure off of him. That’s invaluable.