Minnesota Vikings' Danielle Hunter, Jordan Addison earn monthly awards

MINNEAPOLIS — A pair of Minnesota Vikings players are being recognized for their strong play in the month of October.

Pass rusher Danielle Hunter and wide receiver Jordan Addison were named NFC Defensive Player of the Month and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month, respectively.

Hunter leads the league with 10 sacks, and half of those came in October. He also had 18 tackles and forced two fumbles. He is already just half a sack shy of last year's total and well on his way to surpassing his career high of 14.5.

The 29-year-old Hunter has been the subject of trade rumors for a while now, but the Vikings gave him a reworked contract last offseason and held onto him at the trade deadline this year. His performance this season is all the more impressive when considering his would-be pass-rushing partner, Marcus Davenport, has played a majority of snaps in only two games due to injury.

Hunter is scheduled to be a free agent this offseason and will likely be seeking a longer-term deal. It remains to be seen if he and the Vikings will come to an agreement, but after a few injury-plagued years, Hunter has proven he's still one of the league's premier pass rushers.

Addison, meanwhile, exploded in October, showing why he was a first-round pick — and why the three teams who took receivers just before him may have erred. The rookie had 23 catches for 297 yards and five touchdowns last month. In the last three games, Addison was asked to step up with star Justin Jefferson on injured reserve. He did so impressively, snagging 17 catches for 233 yards and four touchdowns.

Addison has played well all season, in fact. He's second in the league in receiving touchdowns behind only Tyreek Hill, who is having an MVP-caliber season for the Miami Dolphins. If Addison keeps this up, he'll be an Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate at season's end.

Hunter and Addison didn't just rack up empty stats last month. After going 0-3 in September, the Vikings went 4-1 in October, losing to only the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. With starting quarterback Kirk Cousins expected to miss the rest of the season with an Achilles injury, Hunter, Addison and the rest of the Vikings will need to step up if they hope to continue their winning ways.

The Vikings play the Falcons in Atlanta on Sunday. 

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