Thursday, August 3, 2017

Throwback Thursday: Vikings By The Numbers

This has been done many times by many people. It's currently being done as a countdown over at the Daily Norseman site. Here are the Minnesota Vikings players that wore each jersey number the best.

99. Danielle Hunter
98. Linval Joseph
97. Everson Griffen
96. Brian Robison
95. Kenechi Udeze
94. Pat Williams
93. John Randle
92. Tom Johnson
91. Ray Edwards
90. Fred Evans
89. Jerry Reichow
88. Alan Page*
87. Leo Lewis
86. Jake Reed
85. Sammy White
84. Randy Moss
83. Steve Jordan
82. Kyle Rudolph
81. Carl Eller
80. Cris Carter*
79. Doug Martin
78. Matt Birk
77. Korey Stringer*
76. Steve Hutchinson
75. Keith Millard
74. Bryant McKinnie
73. Ron Yary
72. David Huffman
71. David Dixon
70. Jim Marshall*
69. Jared Allen
68. Charles Goodrum
67. Grady Alderman
66. Terry Tausch
65. Gary Zimmerman
64. Randall McDaniel
63. Kirk Lowdermilk
62. Ed White
61. Wes Hamilton
60. Roy Winston
59. Matt Blair
58. Wally Hilgenberg
57. Mike Merriweather
56. Chris Doleman
55. Scott Studwell
54. Eric Kendricks
53. Mick Tingelhoff*
52. Chad Greenway
51. Ben Leber
50. Jeff Siemon
49. Dale Hackbart
48. Najee Mustafaa
47. Joey Browner
46. Cullen Loeffler
45. Ed Sharockman
44. Chuck Foreman
43. Nate Wright
42. John Gilliam
41. Dave Osborn
40. Jim Kleinsasser
39. Carl Lee
38. Bob Tucker
37. Willie Teal
36. John Kirby
35. Robert Miller
34. Rickey Young
33. Brent McClanahan
32. Oscar Reed
31. Eddie Payton
30. Bill Brown
29. Xavier Rhodes
28. Adrian Peterson
27. Corey Fuller
26. Antoine Winfield
25. Nate Allen
24. Robert Griffith
23. Ted Brown
22. Paul Krause
21. Corey Chavous
20. Bobby Bryant
19. Bob Lee
18. Randy Moss-even if he only wore it in practices
17. Mitch Berger
16. Rich Gannon
15. Gary Cuozzo
14. Brad Johnson
13. Bucky Scribner
12. Percy Harvin
11. Daunte Culpepper
10. Fran Tarkenton*
  9. Tommy Kramer
  8. Ryan Longwell
  7. Randall Cunningham
  6. Jay Walker
  5. Chris Kluwe
  4. Brett Favre
  3. Jan Stenerud
  2. Darren Bennett
  1. Warren Moon

*Retired Jersey Numbers

Many of the lower numbers are pretty bleak.

There were a few hotly contested numbers.
20. Tommy Mason vs Bobby Bryant
Tommy Mason was the Vikings first ever draft pick and one of their first stars. If injuries hadn't slowed him after a few strong seasons there would probably be no debate as to which player wore #20 the best. Bobby Bryant is one of the best cornerbacks in team history.

22. Paul Krause vs Harrison Smith
Paul Krause is the NFL's all-time interceptor and he has a bust in Canton so there really is no debate. But Harrison Smith could change that before he's done.

26. Robert Smith vs Antoine Winfield
Game-breaking running back vs game-changing corner. This one all depends on who's answering the question. For me, it's easy. Antoine Winfield. He's one of my all-time favorites.

58. Rip Hawkins vs Wally Hilgenberg vs Ed McDaniel
Rip Hawkins was the Vikings second ever pick and a solid starter. If he'd played more than five seasons maybe he'd be an easy pick. Wally Hilgenberg was a solid, intimidating starter through best years of the franchise. Ed McDaniel was a fun player. He was a little undersized but he made plays all over the field.

93. John Randle vs Kevin Williams
John Randle is a Hall of Famer and damn-near a franchise icon. 93 is his but Kevin Williams sure made a fine run at it.

It might be a little early for Danielle Hunter (99) and Eric Kendricks (54) to lock up their numbers but through two seasons they look like long-time franchise cornerstones.

As for some other young Vikings players, receivers Stefon Diggs (14) and Adam Thielen (19) should be able to wrestle their numbers from a couple journeyman quarterbacks. Rookie running back Dalvin Cook (33) has yet to play an NFL snap but he has the talent and opportunity to be special.

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