Favorite Minnesota Vikings Receivers

I was thinking about receivers. When I think about football, I often think about receivers. I like receivers. The Minnesota Vikings have been blessed with a lot of great receivers. Maybe that’s why I like receivers so damn much. Here are my favorite Vikings receivers. 

1.   Cris Carter

2.   Randy Moss

3.   Justin Jefferson

4.   Anthony Carter

5.   Adam Thielen

6.   Ahmad Rashad

7.   Stefon Diggs

8.   Percy Harvin

9.   Sammy White

10. Jake Reed

11. John Gilliam

12. Paul Flatley

13. Sidney Rice

14. Nate Burleson

15. Gene Washington

16. Hassan Jones

17. Chris Walsh

18. Leo Lewis

19. Bernard Berrian

20. John Henderson

***

The top two are tough to separate. Cris Carter is a close second to Alan Page as my favorite Vikings player. Randy Moss is way up there too. I simply loved the way Carter played the position. He had the best pass-catching hands I’ve ever seen. He ran great routes. His body control was incredible. He worked the sideline and end lines better than any receiver I’ve ever seen. Moss is one of the most physically gifted football players to ever flash across the NFL. It was a blast to watch him rip up the league. I was in the Canton stands to see both great receivers inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Justin Jefferson has only played two seasons in the league. What he’s done in those two seasons is ridiculous. 1400 receiving yards. 1616 receiving yards. 2000 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns feels like the next step. That’d be a crazy next step. The kid is just scratching the surface of his talent. That next step really isn’t so crazy. He’s so much fun. His route running. His hands. I think that it’s his competitiveness that puts him in the orbit of Cris Carter and Randy Moss. It’s his competitiveness that makes that next step not so crazy. 

The greatness of Cris Carter and Randy Moss might’ve pushed Anthony Carter into the shadows of Vikings history. He should be in the team’s Ring of Honor. Hell, he should be in the Ring of Honor for his demolition of the powerhouse San Francisco 49ers in the 1987 playoffs. That performance might be the greatest playoff performance in franchise history. It’s certainly the greatest offensive performance. Carter played nine seasons for the Vikings and he was good to great in all nine seasons.

The career progression of Adam Thielen might be the most remarkable story in Vikings franchise history. It’s been a blast to watch. From that punt block, scoop-and-score against the Carolina Panthers to becoming one of the best clutch receivers in the league. He’s a Saint-killer, touchdown-scorer. He’s a great receiver. He’s a fun receiver. 

I’ve always thought that Ahmad Rashad would be in Canton if he’d arrived in Minnesota a few years earlier. He played receiver the way I like the position played. Great hands. Great routes. Great body control. He played the position a lot like Cris Carter. I like that. 

I hated that Stefon Diggs was traded. Getting Justin Jefferson made it easier. It was a blast to watch Diggs play football. Great hands. Great route running. I have a type. Diggs was so damn fun.

Like Moss before him and Diggs after, Percy Harvin was traded out of Minnesota. Sad days. Harvin was a running back that played receiver. A touchdown was possible from anywhere on the field if the ball was in his hands. His physical gifts were so great that they rival those of Moss. 

Sammy White was the explosive compliment to Ahmad Rashad. The Vikings needed a receiver boost in 1976. White provided that as a rookie. He was named the league’s rookie of the year. White-Rashad was my first favorite Vikings receiver duo. 

Cris Carter was great. There’s no questioning that. Throughout his Vikings career, he was blessed with terrific receivers opposite him. First it was Anthony Carter. Later it was Randy Moss. In between, it was Jake Reed. Reed had four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. He was a Pro Bowl caliber receiver on teams that had Hall of Fame caliber receivers. As a result, he made no Pro Bowls. You look at Reed’s career trajectory and it tails off in 1998. That’s the year that Moss was drafted.

It’ll be tough to crack the Top-10 of my Vikings receiving favorites. Nate Burleson and Sidney Rice would’ve had a shot if each had longer Vikings careers. I really liked how each played the position. 

Chris Walsh and Leo Lewis made this list of favorites as much for their special teams play as their receiver play. Walsh’s maniacal play on kick coverage was a blast. 

Bernard Berrian would’ve been a terrific complimentary receiver to many of those above him on this list. He was a bit miscast as the team’s receiving savior.