Gary Zimmerman and Keith Millard made this team despite getting their feet wet in professional football with the USFL before joining the Vikings in the NFL.
Quarterback
Fran Tarkenton, 1961
Running Backs
Chuck Foreman, 1973
Adrian Peterson, 2007
Fullback
Alfred Anderson, 1984
Wide Receivers
Sammy White, 1976
Randy Moss, 1998
Tight End
Joe Senser, 1980
Tackles
Gary Zimmerman, 1986
Matt Kalil, 2012
Guards
Jim Vellone, 1966
Randall McDaniel, 1988
Center
Mick Tingelhoff, 1962
Defensive End
Carl Eller, 1964
Kevin Williams, 2003
Defensive Tackle
Alan Page, 1967
Keith Millard, 1985
Linebackers
Matt Blair, 1974
Eric Kendricks, 2015
Anthony Barr, 2014
Cornerback
Carl Lee, 1983
DeWayne Washington, 1994
Safety
Orlando Thomas, 1995
Harrison Smith, 2012
Kicker
Blair Walsh, 2012
Punter
Chris Kluwe, 2005
Returner
Cordarrelle Patterson, 2013
***
Safety Harrison Smith and linebackers Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks are still playing for the Vikings. Adrian Peterson, Matt Kalil, Blair Walsh (for now), and Cordarrelle Patterson are still playing for teams that aren't the Vikings. It's a damn shame that Kalil never returned to the level of play that he reached as a rookie. He'd still be in Minnesota if he had.
Some terrific players might have made this team if head coach Bud Grant hadn't been so reluctant to start rookies. Even Alan Page didn't start right away.
Most of the picks were pretty easy to make. The most competitive positions were tight end, tackle, and linebacker.
Tight end: Joe Senser edged out Steve Jordan, Kyle Rudolph, and Andrew Jordan.
Tackle: Matt Kalil's super rookie season kept Todd Steussie's solid rookie season on the bench.
Linebacker: It was tough to leave off Jeff Siemon but I went with Eric Kendricks. It was even tougher to leave off Chris Doleman. He was drafted during the brief window in which the Vikings ran a 3-4 defense. Doleman never looked comfortable as an outside linebacker in that scheme. If he had started out as a defensive end he would've made that position the toughest to pick.
Decade breakdown:
1960s: 5
1970s: 3
1980s: 6
1990s: 3
2000s: 3
2010s: 6
The 1980s with 6 is a bit of a surprise. That was probably the weakest decade in franchise history. It certainly had the most frustrating, depressing year (1984). Two of the best players from the 1980s (Chris Doleman and Joey Browner) didn't even make the team. The Vikings raised the bar pretty high in the 1970s (imagine where that bar would be if they had actually won one of those Super Bowls). Perhaps the 1980s only feels weak in comparison. Nah, it was a rough time. But they had some great players. Some of them kicked off their great careers with great rookie seasons.
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