EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. —When Vikings Defensive Coordinator George Edwards attended LSU's Pro Day two year ago, he had his eye on one player in particular.

Danielle Hunter had just a single sack during his junior year at LSU, but he's racked up 18.0 sacks in 29 career games with the Vikings.

Edwards said Thursday that Hunter's production in the pros can be attributed to a tireless work ethic combined with raw physical skills that have become more refined.

"I think what you saw was an athlete, a young athlete, that had a lot of skills, a lot of skill sets but just didn't have a lot of production," Edwards said. "You kind of had a vision for him, and I think (Vikings General Manager) Rick (Spielman) and his staff did a great job of putting a vision on him and what we thought he could grow into.

"Hats off to Danielle, he's come in here and worked his butt off, picked up the tools and been able to go out and play and be successful," Edwards added. "I think it's a big credit to him, I think it's credit to Andre Patterson, our D-line coach, and those guys working through the rigors of him just growing and the growing pains."

Edwards said he enjoyed getting to hear from those closest to Hunter about what kind of person he was off the field.

"When you go and you visit, it isn't just looking at him work out, cause they all work out … pretty good in the shorts," Edwards said. "But you get a chance to talk to his head coach, you get a chance to talk to the people in the building that work with him every day to kind of see his make up.

"He was an impressive kid, a very impressive kid from what they had to say about him and the skill set that he displays," Edwards added.

Edwards, Vikings Interim Offensive Coordinator Pat Shurmur and Special Teams Coordinator Mike Priefer all spoke with the Twin Cities media Thursday.

Here are four more observations from their podium sessions:

Taking a step forward

Vikings wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson leads the NFL with a kickoff return average of 31.5 yards.

But he's also made an impact as a wide receiver as he has set a career-high in catches with 51. The former first-round draft pick has 414 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Shurmur said that Patterson's focus is on constant improvement, even as the Vikings prepare for Sunday's season finale against the Bears.

"I think he just needs to continue to play wide receiver and when he gets his opportunities he needs to make good on them," Shurmur said. "He is having his opportunities and he's done some really nice things for us this year and he's still, even though he's been a few years in the league, he just needs to keep developing as a route runner, keep competing and keep trying to get that trust built with the quarterback, and it'll come along."

Keeping tabs on Kai

With one game left in the season, Priefer was asked to evaluate kicker Kai Forbath, who joined the team in mid-November. 

Forbath has done well in Purple, as he's hit all 14 field goal tries with a long of 51 yards. He has made six of nine extra point attempts.

Priefer said he's also been impressed with Forbath's distance of kickoffs, a skill set the kicker did not do in college.

"Kai has done some really good things. Kickoffs overall, he's done a pretty good job. He's had a couple, two or three that we'd like to have back," Priefer said. "Obviously, the [three] missed PATs are inexcusable. It's been unbelievable this year. One of them was blocked, and one of the guys to this day, I think, was off sides.

"That being said, I think being 14-of-14 and doing a good enough job on kickoffs I think he's got to be somebody we consider (long term)," Priefer added. "But, that's part of the evaluation process that we'll sit down next week with the head coach, the general manager, our personnel people, our scouts and figure out what the next step is at all of our positions."

Blitzing 'backers

Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks recorded his first sacks of the 2016 season Saturday in Green Bay as he brought down Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers 2.5 times.

Fellow linebacker Anthony Barr has 2.0 sacks on the season, as the duo can combine to make a formidable pair at getting after the quarterback.

Edwards was asked what makes the pair so effective when they come charging at the quarterback.

"Number one, size is a factor. Barr is a bigger blitzer, and Eric is a smaller guy," Edwards said. "I think they both have good blitz ability. I think they both are very maneuverable if they get one-on-one with a back.

"I think certain things that certain teams try to do protection wise, I think we can take advantage of with the skill sets that both of them have," he added. "We like both of them blitzing, but we just can't go zero-blitz all the time and blitz the backers all the time. From that aspect of it, it just depends on what we think is the best thing from week-to-week."

Keeping the right mindset

Priefer is known to be intense on game day, and he expects the same from his players this Sunday.

Although neither the Vikings (7-8) nor Bears (3-12) can qualify for the playoffs, Priefer said he expects Minnesota to come out fired up in the season finale at U.S. Bank Stadium.

"They know that next week we're going to have evaluations on all the guys," Priefer said. "We write reports on all the guys. I think the ones that are smart enough to understand, which most of them are, they realize that this is their job and they have a job to do on Sunday.

"And finishing strong is, if not all, a part of that job, so that's been part of my message this week as well," he added.