There sure are a lot of rankings these days. Here's another one. The Top-15 players in Minnesota Vikings history.
15. Paul Krause, S
Krause's 81 career interceptions might out of reach. If his tackling skills matched his knack for turnovers he'd be closer to #5 than #15 on this list.
14. Gary Zimmerman, T
Zimmerman is one of the few players to be named NFL All-Decade in two decades. He was second team All-Decade for his five years with the Vikings in the 1980s. He was first team All-Decade for his three years with the Vikings and five years with the Denver Broncos in the 1990s.
13. Ron Yary, T
For the first half of the 1970s Yary might have been the best tackle in the league.
12. Jim Marshall, DE
Marshall was the heart of the Vikings for all of his 19 years (1961-79) with the team. The fact that he played defensive end in the NFL for 20 years is truly remarkable. He also played a year in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1959.
11. Mick Tingelhoff, C
Tingelhoff played center for the Vikings for 17 years (1962-78). For most of those years he had to deal with the unpredictable scrambling of Fran Tarkenton. That alone probably added at least another three years to his career. He finally made it to the Pro Football of Fame last summer.
10. Joey Browner, S
From 1987-90 Browner was one of the best defensive players in the game. He wrecked the intentions of offenses. If he could have played all of his nine years like he did those four he'd be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
9. Chris Doleman. DE
My favorite Doleman moment was a 4-sack game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Christmas in 1989. He made all-everything Bengals tackle Anthony Munoz look pedestrian. He made a lot of tackles look pedestrian.
8. Carl Eller, DE
Eller was a ferocious defensive end for one of the best lines in the history of the NFL. Two from that line are in the Hall of Fame (Eller and Alan Page). Three are on this list. (Marshall, Eller, and Page).
7. John Randle, DT
Randle was a riot on the field. An easy fan favorite. Boisterous, energetic, chatty. He had a motor that did not stop. He wasn't a favorite of quarterbacks. 137.5 sacks. One of the best totals for an interior lineman.
6. Randall McDaniel, G
McDaniel was an impact blocker as soon as he stepped on an NFL field as a rookie in 1988. Ridiculously athletic and quick. 12 Pro Bowls. 9x First-Team All-Pro. He's one of the best to ever play the position.
5. Randy Moss, WR
Moss is one of the most physically gifted players in the history of the NFL. He was too fast, too tall, too explosive for the players defending him. He was beautiful to watch.
4. Fran Tarkenton, QB
At the time of his retirement in 1978 Tarkenton held all of the passing records. Touchdowns, yards, completions, attempts. Those records lasted for about twenty years when Dan Marino finally took them down. Tarkenton would probably be in the argument for best quarterback ever if he had some Super Bowl titles to go with those records.
3. Adrian Peterson, RB
Peterson is still adding to his tremendous NFL career. If he can play as long as he says that he can play he'll challenge Emmitt Smith's rushing record.
2. Cris Carter, WR
No receiver caught the football better than Carter. His pass catching should be must-see viewing for anyone with an interest in playing the receiver position. It should even be mandatory viewing for some receivers that are already playing in the NFL.
1. Alan Page, DT
Page simply took over football games. He was too quick for the blockers tasked with slowing him. He also took home the NFL MVP Award in 1971. He was the first defensive player to ever do so.
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