100 Greatest Minnesota Vikings Players: 50-41

The Flea Flicker countdown of the 100 Greatest Minnesota Vikings Players continues with #s 50-41.

100 Greatest Minnesota Vikings Players: 50-41

  50. Matt Birk, C

  49. Sammy White, WR

  48. Xavier Rhodes, CB

  47. Adam Thielen, WR

  46. Kirk Cousins, QB

  45. Carl Lee, CB

  44. Dave Osborn, RB

  43. Grady Alderman, OT

  42. Tommy Mason, RB

  41. Henry Thomas, DT

The receiver position has always been my favorite. It’s the position I played. It’s the position I’m drawn to the most. The Vikings have a terrific receiver tradition. Sammy White was one of my first favorite receivers. His pairing with Ahmad Rashad was a great one. Until the Carters, White and Rashad was my favorite Vikings receiving duo. 

At his peak, Xavier Rhodes was the best cover corner in the league. I only wish that peak had lasted longer. 

Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs put on a weekly route-running tutorial. They were so much fun together. I wish that the pairing could’ve lasted longer. Thielen is an excellent receiver and his path to receiving stardom is great.

I’ve always wondered if Kirk Cousins would get less grief if he wasn’t such a goofy guy. His statistics are elite level. The only legitimate knock to his game is the occasional bad game. All quarterbacks have an occasional bad game but a Cousins bad game is a really bad game. I believe that it would take a Super Bowl win for Cousins to be embraced by the majority of Vikings fans. There are some that would still find a reason to bitch about him.

There are a lot of former Vikings players that could be the next member of the team’s Ring of Honor. In my opinion, the next member should be Grady Alderman. I think that he should be the next member simply because he’s been waiting longer than anybody. He was the left tackle on the first Vikings team. He was the team’s left tackle for more than a decade. Six Pro Bowls. One All-Pro. 

One of the great mysteries of the 50 Greatest Vikings was Tommy Mason not being on it. He was the team’s first draft pick. He and Fran Tarkenton were the team’s first stars. I visited the Vikings Museum in 2019. I was surprised and ecstatic to find a display devoted to Mason. He deserves it. He also deserves greater appreciation from the Vikings for his Vikings career. 

Henry Thomas played in the shadow of Chris Doleman and Keith Millard on the Vikings defensive lines of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Thomas racked up 56 sacks over his eight years in Minnesota. His 93.5 career sacks is an impressive number for a player that often lined up on the center. Hall of Fame impressive?