Just waiting for free agency developments on the first Saturday of a new league year. While waiting for free agency developments, I was thinking about receivers. In particular, I was thinking about the best receivers in Minnesota Vikings franchise history. It’s a strong receiver history. Two are among the best to ever play the position. Two others have Hall of Fame arguments. Another, after only two seasons, is on a fast path to joining the legends at the position. In the 61-year history of the Vikings, the team has often had one, two, and sometimes three of the best receivers of their era. Here are ten (11) of the best receivers in Minnesota Vikings franchise history.
Minnesota Vikings Top 10 Receivers
1. Cris Carter
2. Randy Moss
3. Ahmad Rashad
4. Anthony Carter
5. Adam Thielen
6. Justin Jefferson
7. Sammy White
8. Jake Reed
9. Stefon Diggs
10. Percy Harvin
10. John Gilliam
The top two are easy. Cris Carter and Randy Moss are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It was incredible to see the two together for four seasons. Incredible. Many may have Moss #1 and Carter #2. I get that. Moss was the most physically gifted receiver to ever play. He was a Freak of nature. Defenses had no answer for what he could do on the football field. I have Carter #1 simply because he had all of the attributes that I value most in a receiver. Hands. Carter had the best hands I’ve ever seen. His ability to get separation. His body control. I’ve never seen a player work the sideline better than Carter. It didn’t seem fair. Carter-Moss. Moss-Carter. It doesn’t really matter. Each are on the short list of the very best to play the position.
As tough as it is to separate the top two, it might be even tougher to separate the next four, or more.
Ahmad Rashad and Sammy White were the Cris Carter and Randy Moss of my youth. Like Carter, Rashad was a move-the-chains machine. Like Moss, White was a big-play threat. I truly believe that if Rashad had played the entirety, or even just a little more, of his career in Minnesota, he’d be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Still, his seven years in Minnesota were as strong as any other receiver of his era.
Anthony Carter’s demolition of the great San Francisco 49ers in the 1987 playoffs was one of the greatest days in my life as a Vikings fan. That day was fun. Carter was fun. So much fun. He played nine years in Minnesota but it felt like five. It went by so fast. His four-year stretch from 1987-90 should trigger Hall of Fame discussions that have yet to happen. In the 1987 strike-shortened season, he gained a remarkable 922 yards on only 38 receptions. That works out to 24.3 yards per each catch. Incredible. That might be as incredible as Jerry Rice’s 22 touchdowns that season. Maybe not. Both are damn incredible.
Two current Vikings are 5 and 6. Adam Thielen’s play, path and Minnesota roots will forever have him as a franchise icon. As a fan of the particulars of receiver play, I’ve been spoiled by recent Vikings receivers. It’s been an absolute joy to watch the pass-catching and route-running of Thielen, Stefon Diggs, and Justin Jefferson. Justin Jefferson. What can you say about Justin Jefferson? Two seasons. 196 catches. 3016 yards. 17 touchdowns. Those a ridiculous two-year numbers. Those are the sort of ridiculous two-year numbers that you see from a Hall of Fame receiver in the MIDDLE of his career. Jefferson did it in his first two seasons. The first of which was the hacked-up COVID season. No offseason workouts. Hacked-up training camp. Hacked-up season. Two seasons! #6 on this list already feels low. He’s only resting at #6 on his climb to Cris Carter and Randy Moss.
Jake Reed had four consecutive seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards. The only thing that kept him from having more was the selection of Randy Moss in the 1998 NFL Draft. Reed will always be a Vikings receiving afterthought because he played in the immense shadows of Carter and Moss. He was one of the best deep threats of his era.
Stefon Diggs is now considered one of the best receivers in the game. There’s nothing that he’s doing in Buffalo that he didn’t do in Minnesota. He’s so much fun to watch. His quickness. His route-running. His hands. His passion. He and Thielen were so fun. It was a sad day when the Vikings traded Diggs. But his departure and the pick that the Vikings received for him brought Justin Jefferson to Minnesota.
As a football player. As a receiver, runner, and returner, Percy Harvin was one of the most exciting players in Vikings franchise history. He was incredible with the football in his hands. He really wasn’t a receiver. He wasn’t refined as a receiver. The Vikings had to design ways to get him the ball. When they did, Harvin was a blast to watch.
John Gilliam is often over-looked among the great receivers in Vikings franchise history. He’s tied for #10 here. I had to get him on the list. He shouldn’t be overlooked as he was terrific during his four years with the team.
1972: 47 catches, 1035 yards, 22.0 yards/catch, 7 TDs
1973: 42 catches, 907 yards, 21.6 yards.catch, 8 TDs
1974: 26 catches, 578 yards, 22.2 yards/catch, 5 TDs
1975: 50 catches, 777 yards, 15.5 yards/catch, 7 TDs
It’s important to remember the NFL offenses of the early 1970s. 50 catches in the 1970s often led the league. It was like 100 catches today. Gilliam made the Pro Bowl in each of his four seasons in Minnesota. His 20+ yards/catch from 1972-74 was ridiculous. If he hadn’t had a brief dance with the failing WFL in advance of the 1975 season, he probably has four seasons with 20+ yards/catch. He was one of the most explosive playmakers and one of the best receivers of his era.
While they were at the top of their game and still in their prime, the Vikings made the very disappointing decision to trade three of the players on this list. Randy Moss, Percy Harvin, and Stefon Diggs. Each of these trades was crushing. Fortunately, the Vikings most often did a good job of replacing those star receivers. The trade of Harvin led to the drafting of somewhat similarly talented Cordarrelle Patterson. The trade of Diggs turned into Justin Jefferson. The Vikings never did replace Moss. How could they?
The great receiver tradition of the Vikings has been and continues to be so damn much fun.
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