While it's become urban legend to say that Allen told the Vikings he wouldn't play for them, that's just not true; the Vikings chose Nelson because they thought his quickness and pass-catching ability were a better fit for their offense. In four seasons as a starter, Mackbee had 15 interceptions, including six in 1969, the year Minnesota made its first trip to the Super Bowl. The seventh overall selection in the 2007 draft, McKinnie never applied himself to the game of football and never became as good as he should have been. Jump to navigation Jump to search. "Possession" receivers don't normally last for more than a decade in the NFL, but Lewis did because of his dependability and high character. Moon threw for more than 4,200 yards and 51 touchdowns in his first two seasons with the Vikings and finished with 10,102 yards passing in just 39 games with the team. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012 and voted one of the 50 greatest Vikings in 2010. It was more of the same for Foreman over the course of the next five seasons as he developed into one of the best dual-threats the league has ever seen. Was he one of the most electric players to ever wear a Vikings uniform? © 2019 Minnesota Vikings Football, LLC , All Rights Reserved. Though no Marcus Allen, Nelson was far from a disaster for the Vikings. The 6'5", 300-pounder has held down the middle of Minnesota's defensive line since his rookie season, missing only four games in his 10-year career. While Visanthe Shiancoe's ceiling was never as high as Joe Senser's, he lands one spot higher on our list for putting together five productive seasons for the Vikings. Still, because of all the red flags around Moss, he dropped all the way down to the 21st pick, where the Vikings were more than happy to grab him and add him to their receiver mix with Cris Carter and Jake Reed. Moss simply overwhelmed NFL defenders as a rookie, catching 69 balls for 1,313 yards and 17 touchdowns, which led the league. The Vikings were high on Foreman because they thought he could not only be a great rusher, but also an excellent receiver out of the backfield. 4. It belongs to the player … What the Vikings and head coach Bud Grant loved even more about Young, though, were his pass-catching numbers. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. The year off from the NFL probably lost Merriweather some of the explosiveness he showed early in his career, but the Vikings were more than happy with the four excellent seasons they got out of him. Pages in category "Minnesota Vikings players" The following 200 pages are in this category, out of approximately 1,404 total. As most Vikings did, Eric Bloodaxe "embarked on a career of international piracy", in other words, he was a true Viking raider. Among their most famous players include Fran Tarkenton, Cris Carter, Adrian Peterson, Alan Page, Jim … But, Chuck Foreman was the Vikings BEST all-around running back! Below you'll find the 50 players who comprise the 50 Greatest Vikings. Â. He was named one of the 50 greatest Vikings in 2010. Lee played in three Pro Bowls in his time with the Vikings and amassed almost 800 tackles in his career. Though Brown wasn't the lead back right away, he contributed immediately, rushing for more than 550 yards and catching 31 passes as a rookie. Sharockman was a part of four division championship teams and started in Super Bowl IV. Smith walked away from the NFL after his best season in 2000 at the age of 28. He never took any plays off and never looked for any special treatment or recognition. Mullaney had close to 600 tackles in his career and 13 forced fumbles. What they didn't do is rank those players. Thomas had five more interceptions in 1996, but he was never again the impact player that he was during his rookie season. The live event at the Minneapolis Convention Center included appearances by more than 45 of the final 50, making it the largest collection of former Vikings players under one roof. The Vikings had three first-round picks in the 1967 draft, and with the third of those, they chose Page out of the University of Notre Dame. Moss was a six-time Pro Bowler and made first-team All-Pro four times. He isn’t just an all-time Vikings player, he is an all-time NFL player. Minnesota saw no shortage of players on this year's NFL Top 100 Players List. Page was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988 and was voted one of the 50 greatest Vikings in 2010. was founded way back in 1875. 1 receiver on the team, but he often played like one. History is very forgiving to the Minnesota Vikings when it comes to the 2003 draft. Jordan played 176 games for the Vikings, the most of any pass catcher other than Cris Carter. Larsen was drafted by the Rams in 1964, but the Vikings knew all about him, as he'd played his college ball at Concordia, in Moorhead, Minn. Larsen was a 6'5", 260-pound scrapper who did all of the little things you want out of your defensive linemen. Brown had been a four-time All-ACC pick, and the Vikings coveted him because he was an excellent receiver out of the backfield as well. The 1980s Vikings were having trouble rushing the passer and entered the 1985 draft trying to solve that problem. Smart and physical, Birk excelled as both a run-blocker and a pass protector. Marshall gained infamy when he returned one of those fumbles 66 yards the wrong way to his own end zone for a safety. He played 108 games for the Vikings and made the Pro Bowl in four of the seven years he was with the team. All-time Greatest Minnesota Vikings: No. Krause still holds the all time interceptions record in the NFL with 81. The Minnesota Vikings were trying to duplicate history in 1974 when they used their first-round pick on an All-American left tackle out of USC, selecting Steve Riley with the 25th overall choice. Krause was named All-NFL four times, started in four Super Bowls and has a Minnesota Vikings record with 10 interceptions in a … Matt Blair was just the second linebacker the Vikings took in the 1974 draft, taken in the second round after the team had taken Fred McNeill in the first round. Famous Birthdays Kudos to the Minnesota Vikings personnel department back in 1993. By the time he retired in 2002, the numbers were staggering: 1,101 receptions for 13,899 yards and 130 touchdowns. The Vikings won 11 division titles, four NFC titles and played in four Super Bowls while Yary was with the team. Birk was voted one of the 50 greatest Vikings in 2010. Jordan made six straight Pro Bowls starting in 1986 and was named one of the 50 greatest Vikings in 2010. All-time Greatest Minnesota Vikings: No. He always seemed to come up with crucial interceptions or blocked kicks just when the Vikings needed them most. Gilliam had had three great seasons in St. Louis, and the Vikings traded for him before the 1972 season. With their second-round pick in the 1978 draft, the Vikings selected cornerback John Turner out of the University of Miami. The sky is the limit for both players as they set forth on their NFL careers. The Minnesota Vikings have always had pretty good luck when it comes to knowing their personnel, knowing when to re-sign their free agents and when to let guys walk who are no longer worth what they're asking for. Viking Number 10 - Eric Haraldsson This hardcore Viking was also nicknamed Eric Bloodaxe. In the ninth round of the 2002 draft, the New England Patriots took a shot on a monster of an offensive guard who grew up in New Zealand. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards for four straight seasons, scoring 27 touchdowns. The 6'1", 245-pounder won both the Dick Butkus and Chuck Bednarik awards as the best linebacker in college football. He played on three NFC championship teams, and the Vikings won nine division titles in Voigt's 11 seasons with the team. Listed at 6'3" and a generous 320 pounds, Williams added mass and quickness to the middle of the Vikings defensive line. Irwin coached current Viking Harrison Smith in eighth grade. Always a leader through both his performance and his attitude, Winfield was a pro's pro in that he always showed up to play, and he always played the game the way it was meant to be played. If you drew up a caricature of what you thought an NFL fullback was supposed to look like in the 1940s and 1950s, you'd have a pretty good picture of Bill "Boom-Boom" Brown, who manned that position for the Minnesota Vikings from 1962-1974. Carter is one of the best receivers to ever play the game, a superlative route-runner who used the sidelines better than anyone and has among the best hands of all time. In 1998, the Vikings drafted Randy Moss, and Cunningham had the greatest season of his career. He was expelled by his father for being the youngest of his sons, but took a great fleet of Viking warriors with him and raided England, Spain, France and Italy, getting as far south as Gibraltar. What they got in return for their pick was one of the best defensive tackles to ever play the game. They became more than best friends over the years; they were more like brothers. Perhaps the complete opposite of the type of player from the previous slide, Stu Voigt was nothing but a pro's pro in his 11 seasons wearing No. Speaking of Vikings who should be in the Hall of Fame and aren't, the list certainly begins with center Mick Tingelhoff. Undrafted out of college, Randle tried out for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but they cut him, thinking he was too small to play defensive tackle. Jones played the role of quality second or third receiver his entire career and racked up pretty good numbers doing so. The Minnesota Vikings were looking for defense in the 1980 draft, and after selecting Doug Martin with the ninth overall pick, Minnesota opted for cornerback Willie Teal out of LSU with the 30th overall pick, the second pick in Round 2. For his career, Eddie Mac had 19.5 sacks, four interceptions and nearly 800 tackles. His 66 touchdown passes rank fourth in team history. He has 12 Vikings records, including career rushing yards and touchdowns. The Minnesota Vikings selected a safety out of Southern California in 1983 with the 19th pick in the first round. We can hear the screaming all the way from the Super Bowl he didn't lead us to. A three-time Pro Bowler while with the Philadelphia Eagles, Cunningham briefly retired from football in 1996 after losing the starting job to Rodney Peete in Philadelphia. The Vikings had traded Fran Tarkenton in order to get the No. Recent history has Vikings fans bemoaning the Favre signing, only remembering the crushing loss to the Saints, the will-he-or-won't-he-come-back shenanigans and the years of being torched by him as a member of the Packers. Drafted in the second round in 2007, Minnesota had high hopes for the 6'4", 200-pounder out of South Carolina, who was going to make Vikings fans forget that other South Carolina receiver, Troy Williamson. Overall, Cunningham was 16-7 as a starter for the Vikings and threw for 48 touchdowns in just 27 games. A superlative special teams player his first two seasons with the team, Griffith broke through in 1996 and started at strong safety for Minnesota for the next six seasons. Perhaps nobody in the decade has had a more love/hate relationship with the Minnesota Vikings than safety Darren Sharper. But until anyone else can hold down the job for 14 seasons, Cox is on the list. on May 10, 2017 at 7:16 pm. 30 – Bill Brown. Griffith picked off 17 passes in his time with Minnesota, but it was his prodigious tackling that lands him this high on the list. They left the same year as well, in 1985. Foreman was voted to five straight Pro Bowls beginning in 1973 and was voted one of the 50 greatest Vikings in 2010. Three Super Bowls and a 12-year career aren't bad for a 14th-round draft pick out of tiny University of Wisconsin-Superior. Solomon was a solid starter for the Vikings for a few seasons, but wound up being a part of the package of players that was traded to the Dallas … He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004 and was voted one of the 50 greatest Vikings in 2010. And with Griffith, it wasn't just about the number of tackles, but the oomph behind them. Every NFL team scouted the Jackson State Tigers in the 1970s because they had a running back named Walter Payton. After three mediocre years in the league, Rashad's career took off with Minnesota, and he ended up with 495 career grabs and 44 touchdowns in his 10-year career. On October 14, 2006, Peterson was playing college football for Oklahoma with his father in attendance for the first time. Warwick began a great tradition of tough, no-nonsense middle linebackers that began in the mid-'60s and ran into the '90s for the Vikings. It's a shame that he isn't in the NFL Hall of Fame. Kleinsasser was always a workout warrior who took the mentality of the weight room with him out on to the field. The 50 Greatest Vikings list includes nine members of the team's last outdoor home game (Matt Blair, Bud Grant, Tim Irwin, Tommy Kramer, Ahmad Rashad, Jeff Siemon, Scott Studwell, Sammy White, and Ron Yary), which took place on December 20, 1981 – 29 years to the date of the Vikings outdoor home game at TCF Bank Stadium on Monday, December 20, 2010 against the Chicago Bears. McNeill and Blair were the bridge from the Purple People Eaters to the Vikings' future. Carter finished his career with 486 catches for 7,733 yards and 55 touchdowns. In their history, the Vikings have had 22 players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, 32 earn at least one First-Team All-Pro selection, and … Marshall tops any list of players not in the Hall who belong there. Winfield was named to three Pro Bowls with the Vikings, making it every year from 2008-2010. He wasn’t a burner. Of the three, none had more of an explosive impact than Randy Moss, the Vikings' first-round pick in the 1998 draft. He isn’t just an all-time Vikings player, he is an all-time NFL player. Yep, that's right, Brett Favre all the way up at No. And still starting. His 24 tackles against the Lions in 1985 is also a team record. In 1998, a kid named Randy Moss showed up, and Reed was immediately relegated to third receiver status. 7 before ultimately drafting Kevin Williams with the ninth overall pick. Though not the best player ever drafted out of Marshall by the Vikings, Carl Lee ranks among the best players the Vikings ever found in the seventh round. Griffith amassed 624 tackles in his eight seasons with the team, three times rolling up more than 100 tackles in a season. 29 – Chad Greenway After the Vikings selected him in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft, Chad Greenway seemed destined for big things in the NFL. The Vikings were just trying to fill out their roster for their first season. Fran Tarkenton, QB, 1961-1966, 1972-1978. Krause picked off seven passes in his first year with Minnesota and just never stopped snaring balls. He was undersized at 6'2", 220 pounds, but played the game with a ferocity that made him seem bigger. Peterson won the NFL MVP Award as he rushed for 2,097 yards, barely missing out on Eric Dickerson's single season record. Zimmerman did all of his talking on the field, which was just fine with the Vikings, as he was one of the very best left tackles to ever play the game. Brown played in four Pro Bowls and was voted one of the 50 greatest Vikings in 2010. In the fourth round of the 1963 draft, the Vikings selected Northwestern wide receiver Paul Flatley. Osborn's 137 games are the second most for any Vikings running back, and his 4,320 yards rushing rank sixth. He certainly hasn't slowed down in the NFL. Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks ranked 83 in the NFL Top 100 Players List for 2020. Vikings team records have Marshall recording 127 sacks in his career and recovering an NFL-record 30 fumbles. There have been many great players who lined up on the line of scrimmage for the Minnesota Vikings, but recently the folks over at 24/7 Sports ranked their top 5 players … It should be fun to see how the rest of the career of the greatest Viking ever plays out. Minnesota selected Millard in the first round of the 1984 draft, but he played one year in the USFL before joining the Vikings. With their first pick in the 1975 draft, the Vikings took Mark Mullaney, a 6'5", 245-pounder out of Colorado State. The Vikings finally drafted a quarterback of their own to build around in 1999 when they took Daunte Culpepper out of Central Florida with the 11th overall choice. He had a career-high 18 sacks in 1976 and unofficially had six seasons with 10 or more sacks. Aside from the season, Favre brought a huge kick in the ass to the entire franchise. We might be projecting a little bit down the road here, but after the 2012 MVP... 2. Ed Sharockman was the first cornerback Minnesota ever selected, and he started from day one of his second season. Kapp threw for 37 touchdowns and was 23-12-3 as a starter for Minnesota. After a series of good but not great running backs the Vikings went through in the late 1970s and 1980s, they finally hit the jackpot again in 1993, when they drafted Robert Smith out of Ohio State in the first round. Included are players that played for the Minnesota Vikings (NFL) from 1961-2020. His 129 games played rank fourth among Vikings running backs and his 4,231 yards rushing rank seventh. Gilliam's 20 yards per catch is the highest ever for a Vikings receiver, and although he only played 56 games with the team, his 3,297 yards rank 10th all time for Minnesota. White also was tabbed the NFL's strongest man when he won the 1975 NFL Arm Wrestling Championship. Favre was downright masterful, clinical, surgical (pick your adjective) in leading the Vikings to an 11-2 start. In 1998, he registered a career-high seven sacks and 128 tackles while making the Pro Bowl. Though not as highly acclaimed as the Vikings' outside backers, Roy Winston and Wally Hilgenberg, Warwick was still a tough presence in the middle of the Vikings defense. From young players like Adrian Peterson and Chad Greenway to the trainers and administrative workers, Brett Favre showed everyone at Winter Park how football was done at its highest level. Sullivan stepped into the starting role in his second season, and after one year of learning on the go, Sullivan has put together three straight years of stellar play in the middle of the Vikings offensive line. There's just no denying that he's a helluva football player. One of the best vocal leaders the Minnesota Vikings ever had, Eddie McDaniel was the heart and soul of the Vikings defense in the 1990s. He started at guard for eight seasons after serving as depth guy for his first three years in the league. That record has lasted over 37 years. Larsen registered 38.5 sacks in his career and often left the extreme rushing of the quarterback to his fellow linemen while he babysat behind the initial rush. At just 5'11", 170 pounds, Carter was always undersized, but when on, he could dominate a football game. Lee was a tough player who ended his career with 31 interceptions, including a career-high eight in 1988, when he was a first-team All-Pro. Young caught an NFL-high 88 passes in 1978 for 704 yards and added 417 rushing yards. In the first round of the 1994 draft, the Minnesota Vikings selected an anchor for their offensive line, tackle Todd Steussie out of California. Famous for his strong hands, he often brought down runners and receivers by simply grabbing them by the jersey. The Minnesota Vikings have a wealth of spectacular individual players in their long history. Gilliam was always a great deep threat, and his 22 yards per reception led the NFL that year. The Minnesota Vikings have a storied history and some of the greatest players to ever play the game. Minnesota signed Ravens backup Chester Taylor to a four-year, $14 million deal. After his rookie season in 1995, Orlando Thomas looked like he was going to be an all-timer for the Minnesota Vikings. (I'll pause here and wait for those who want to leave comments calling me an idiot know-nothing who has zero right to be making this list.). Included are players that played for the Minnesota Vikings (NFL) from 1961-2020. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minnesota Vikings players. Sutherland was, in fact, a member of the Vikings' dominant defenses of the 1970s and played in three Super Bowls with the team. A solid tackler and a ball hawk, Thomas started at safety for seven seasons and also ended up with 22 interceptions to tie John Turner for seventh all-time on the Vikings list. Minnesota Vikings All-Time Roster. Brown ended his career playing 104 games for the Vikings, third all time among backs, rushing for 4,546 yards (fifth all time) and 40 touchdowns. He finished with 2,011 completions for 24,775 yards and 159 touchdowns in 128 games. If you'd have put Kleinsasser's heart in McKinnie's body, you'd have had a Hall of Famer. Ultimately, his numbers might not be gaudy enough to make the Hall of Fame, but Winfield was certainly one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL during his career. The Vikings had five different players crack the list — with the highest coming in at No. Drafted out of Florida in the first round in 2009, Harvin wasted no time in proving that he fell too far in going to the Vikings with the 22nd pick. Alas, Millard's lasting legacy in Minnesota comes from a quote he gave police officers in 1986, saying, "My arms are more powerful than your guns.". Hutchinson retired after the 2012 season and will more than likely be in Canton at some point in the next decade. White started 122 games for the Vikings between 1970 and 1977 and made three straight Pro Bowls from 1975-1977. Voigt was a solid blocker and dependable receiver during the Vikings' dominant decade of the 1970s. The Minnesota Vikings might have stumbled out of the gate at the 2003 draft, passing at No. He was spectacular in his second season with Minnesota, rushing for 1,296 yards and five touchdowns and catching 37 passes out of the backfield. Thomas anchored the middle of Minnesota's defensive line for eight years, from 1987-1994. As a rookie, Henderson excelled on special teams as he spent the year learning the ropes of the NFL game while Greg Biekert started every game at middle linebacker. Marshall was named to four different Pro Bowl teams. After taking three seasons to figure things out at the highest level, Reed put a string of four seasons together where he averaged more than 74 catches and 1,200 yards a season. Adrian Peterson, RB, 2007-Present. Here's our list of the 17 most important Vikings players going into the 2017 season. The 6'1", 190-pounder stepped right into the Vikings starting lineup and earned the UPI NFL Rookie of the Year after catching 51 passes for 867 yards and four touchdowns in his initial season. The 6'6", 310-pound Steussie was an immediate starter for the Vikings at left tackle, and he started every game in Minnesota but one in his seven seasons with the club. Undrafted after a stellar career at San Diego State (maybe scouts were too wowed by his teammate Marshall Faulk to notice him), Griffith signed with the Vikings as a free agent in 1994 and carried that undrafted chip on his shoulder for his entire career. Mason's 3,252 yards rushing ranks eighth all time for Minnesota, and he also caught 151 passes and scored 39 touchdowns as a Viking. Overall, Reed played 133 games for the Vikings (tied for third most among Vikings receivers with Anthony Carter; Leo Lewis is second) and caught 413 balls for 6,433 yards and 33 touchdowns. The Vikings let Rice walk after the 2010 season, and he signed a huge deal with Seattle and has spent most of his time there injured. Coupled with another shoulder injury he'd suffered as a freshmen, NFL scouting experts labeled Peterson as "injury prone." Tarkenton was a nine-time Pro Bowler and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986. Many things come into play here; it's tough to compare linebackers to guards, and it's hard to compare a guy who played 50 games in purple against someone who played 125. Foreman took no time to adapt to the pro game, rushing for 801 yards and catching 37 passes for 362 more yards as a rookie. A good cover corner with a nose for the ball and a solid tackler, Turner's 22 career interceptions rank seventh all time for Minnesota. White won the 1976 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award after catching 51 balls for 906 yards and 10 touchdowns. Bennett started immediately and showed flashes of brilliance but never fully found his traction as a star running back in the NFL. The Vikings selected Jordan in the seventh round of the 1982 draft, never dreaming that they'd gotten themselves a player of Jordan's ability. The Percy Harvin era was too short in Minnesota, and many Vikings fans will always be bitter that he acted his way out of town. He trains with an abandon that's only seen in the greatest of athletes. Bennett's average of 50 yards rushing per game as a Viking ranks fifth in team history. Williams is huge and athletic and has always been an exemplary citizen in his time with Minnesota. Steussie combined with Randall McDaniel, Jeff Christy, David Dixon and Korey Stringer to give the Vikings one of the biggest, and best, offensive lines they ever had. Sutherland totaled 138 games with the Vikings and got the absolute most out of his 6'3", 250-pound body.

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