As with the offensive tackles, the best guards in the franchise history of the Vikings are topped by two Hall Famers.
Top Ten Minnesota Vikings Guards
1. Randall McDaniel
2. Steve Hutchinson
3. Ed White
4. David Dixon
5. Anthony Herrera
6. Milt Sunde
7. Charles Goodrum
8. Wes Hamilton
9. Terry Tausch
10. Brandon Fusco
With apologies to John Hannah and Larry Allen, Randall McDaniel is the best guard I’ve ever watched. From that funky stance to his unreal speed, he was fun to watch from snap to whistle. Thanks to the genius “poison pill,” Steve Hutchinson is the Vikings best free agent signing. Recently, there’s been a guard problem in Minnesota. I’ve spent much of the past decade dreaming of a Vikings offensive line with McDaniel and Hutchinson on it.
It’s easy to look past a guard on an offensive line that had a couple of players with busts in Canton. Ed White played between Mick Tingelhoff and Ron Yary. If anyone on the offensive line got a bit of attention it was one, or both, of the eventual Hall of Famers. Yary and Tingelhoff were great. So was White. He was the bully of that offensive line. A defensive lineman at Cal, White played guard with the aggressiveness of a defensive lineman. It was a damn shame that he was shipped to the San Diego Chargers while he was still in his prime. He has a Hall of Fame argument that’s yet to be heard. After McDaniel, Hutchinson, and White, the best remaining guards in Vikings franchise history can be presented in almost any order. I like David Dixon and Anthony Herrera next. Each played guard opposite one of the Vikings Hall of Famers. Dixon played his best years opposite McDaniel. Herrera played his best years opposite Hutchinson. Huge Dixon and aggressive Herrera were terrific on the right side. Milt Sunde was the Vikings first solid guard. He formed a nice left side with tackle Grady Alderman from 1964-67. Sunde flipped sides and formed a nice right-side with tackle Ron Yary until White took over. In the 1970s, Charles Goodrum was a solid left guard on the Vikings first great offensive line.
As the Vikings transitioned from their great 1970s offensive line, Wes Hamilton and Terry Tausch had solid stints as starting guards in the 1980s. Just as Brandon Fusco looked to be on a trajectory that would put him on the top half of this ranking, injuries slowed and ultimately ended his promising career in Minnesota.
The Vikings overhauled the interior of the offensive line this offseason. They spent heavily in free agency for Will Fries. They spent their first round pick on Donovan Jackson. Fries will play right guard. Jackson will play left guard. Both have the opportunity to soar up this list. They are easily the most talented pair of Vikings guards since Hutchinson and Herrera.
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