Vikings mailbag: Danielle Hunter drawing attention, the offensive line's resurgence

Every week send any Vikings-related questions to @Andrew_Krammer and I'll answer them here on Fridays.

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A: The end of the first drive against the Buccaneers may be the best example: a goal-line touchdown. Dalvin Cook made an impressive leap over Pat Elflein and Nick Easton for the 1-yard score, but the key was Cook going untouched until his feet left the turf. That's compared to last year, when the Vikings ranked 31st in points per red-zone trip, according to Football Outsiders. The pass protection, tested with two starting quarterbacks already, has also been much improved. The Vikings have only allowed three sacks on Sam Bradford and Case Keenum, which are the second-fewest in the league so far (as the offense ranks fifth in 20-yard pass plays.) And, until Mike Remmers missed practice Thursday due to an illness, not one offensive lineman had appeared on an injury report. That's especially critical at left tackle, where Riley Reiff has largely eased the Vikings' pain and will face his old team, the Lions, on Sunday.

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A: Keenum's pocket presence was much improved from his first start in Pittsburgh, when a handful of pressures and a sack could be attributed to him flushing the pocket too early. Trust was a big topic in the week leading up to the Buccaneers game and you saw a steadier hand from Keenum. He simply made some good throws, too, including the 45-yard strike to Adam Thielen on his first pass of the game. Coaches credited Keenum's full week of practice with the starting offense, which he's again getting this week ahead of Sunday's game vs. the Lions.

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A: He is getting noticed now after 12.5 sacks last season. Hunter got the No. 1 pass rusher treatment from Tampa Bay last week. By my count, he saw 11 chips or double teams by a Buccaneers running back or tight end on 28 pass-rush snaps. Add the occasional Tampa Bay screen, Vikings zone drop or twist and there were just a small handful of true one-on-one opportunities for Hunter on Sunday. That said, he's just in his fourth week as a full-time starter and there were plays he looked gassed, like the 25-yard touchdown throw from Jameis Winston in the final play of the third quarter.

A: What's Murray's value? Running backs seem to pop up from all avenues with late-round picks and undrafted guys surprising teams with high-end production. The right offer is always a possibility, but at this point Murray's top value is being an injury away from contributing for the Vikings. That's probably not what the Vikings had in mind when signing him to a three-year, $15 million deal in March, but that was before they traded up for Dalvin Cook, who is now second in the league with 288 rushing yards.

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A: I don't see the Vikings keeping seven receivers on the 53-man roster once Michael Floyd is reinstated from his suspension on Monday. So that means one of the rookies, Rodney Adams or Stacy Coley, could be the odd man out. Coley was active for one game, while Adams, a fifth-round pick, has yet to be activated in three weeks.

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