Minnesota Vikings Top 10 Defensive Ends
1. Carl Eller
2. Chris Doleman
3. Jared Allen
4. Jim Marshall
5. Danielle Hunter
6. Everson Griffen
7. Brian Robison
8. Doug Martin
9. Mark Mullaney
10. Al Noga
Carl Eller and Chris Doleman are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Both were among the most feared pass rushers of their day. Both were beasts.
Jared Allen will soon join Eller and Doleman in Canton. Like Eller and Doleman, Allen was one of the most feared pass rushers of his day. He took over games. He dominated with technique and hustle. He was also one of the most fun players in Vikings franchise history.
Seeing Jim Marshall anywhere but #1 on any list is painful. His leadership and play through the Vikings first two decades has him as perhaps the most important, most impactful player in franchise history. In terms of his play on the field, he’s #4 on this list. If Danielle Hunter can stay healthy, Marshall might soon be #5 on this list. Most Vikings fans consider it criminal that Marshall isn’t in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I would love it if Marshall made it to Canton. I’d be at his induction. However, I don’t think that he makes it. Marshall was a very good football player. He’s in the Pro Football Researchers Association’s Hall of Very Good. He made it 2004. That was the PFRA’s second induction class. Marshall was a very good football player on a great defensive line. He was named to only two Pro Bowls. He was named second-team All-Pro three times. He had 130.5 sacks. That’s a great total but it took 20 years. That works out to just over 6.5 sacks per season. Those aren’t really Hall of Fame numbers. If he ever makes it to Canton, it’ll be for his Iron Man career and his fumble recovery record. 20 seasons, 282 games, 277 starts, 270 consecutive starts. At defensive end. I laughed when Brett Favre was celebrated for passing Marshall’s consecutive starts. Favre felt contact a few times each game. Marshall was in thick of contact on nearly every snap he played. And he played damn near every snap. Every snap of every game. For 20 years. If players get knocked by the Hall voters for brief careers, Marshall should get Hall consideration for his ridiculously long, very good, very consistent career.
Danielle Hunter has missed nearly all of the last two seasons to injuries. Prior to that, he was on a Hall of Fame trajectory. If he can stay on the field, he can return to that Hall trajectory. He has the talent to get to the top of this list.
When thinking of Everson Griffen, I often think of the surprise and criticism when he was given a contract extension prior to the 2014 season. The national media was stunned by the big, new contract as he’d never even been a full-time starter. Everyone in Minnesota knew that Griffen was deserving of the deal. They’d seen what he could do. When he has on the field, he made things happen for the defense. As soon as he became a full-time starter he started collecting sacks.
Throughout his 11-year Vikings career, Brian Robison was seen as the other defensive end. First, it was Jared Allen that started opposite him. Then it was Everson Griffen that started opposite him. Eventually, Danielle Hunter took his starting job. Through it all, Robison gave the Vikings one of the best defensive end combos in the league and one of the best defensive end groups in the league. Thanks to his wonderful interactions with fans, he’ll always be a fan favorite.
Doug Martin is one of the most underrated players in Vikings franchise history. A few defensive linemen had the unenviable task of replacing members of the Purple People Eaters. Martin probably faired the best. He had a 10-year career in Minnesota. Most of it as a starter. During the strike-shortened 1982 season, he led the league with 11.5 sacks. That was a nine-game season. At that pace, he would’ve collected over 20 sacks in a 16-game season. He followed that league-leading season with a 13-sack season in 1983. He had nine sacks in each of the 1986 and 1987 season. He had a very good and sometimes great 10-year career in Minnesota.
Mark Mullaney was another of the defensive linemen tasked with replacing the Purple People Eaters. He was a first-round pick in 1975. He played 12 seasons with 97 starts. He was a full-time starter from 1979-82. His best sack totals came in 1978 (9) and 1979 (8).
At five seasons, Al Noga had a fairly brief run in Minnesota. He benefited from being on a defensive line dominated by Chris Doleman, Keith Millard, and Henry Thomas. He collected 11.5 sacks in 1989 and 9 sacks in 1992. Those highs edged out Ray Edwards for #10 on this list.
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