Minnesota Vikings Sack Leaders

The NFL made sacks an official defensive statistic in 1982. In the league’s official eyes, a defensive player hadn’t recorded a tackle of the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage from 1920-1981. It’s a foolish stance. Through decades of researching game films, game logs, statistics here, statistics there, John Thuney and Nick Webster have reliably tracked sacks to 1960. The results of that research were released to Pro Football Reference this week. A lot has changed in the sacking world this week. Al Baker now has the single-season sack record with 23 in 1978. Deacon Jones led the NFL in sacks a record five times. What hasn’t changed is that the NFL still believes that the first sack of a quarterback occurred in 1982. We know better. We know that Baker has the single-season sack record. We know that Jones sacked quarterbacks at a ridiculous rate in the 1960s. We know that quarterbacks were sacked by defensive players before 1982. We also know that Minnesota Vikings defensive players have sacked a lot of quarterbacks. Many of those sacks occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. Thuney and Webster found them. Pro Football Reference has them. 

Minnesota Vikings Sack Leaders

Rank	Player	Sacks	Years
1	Carl Eller	130.5	1964-1978
2	Jim Marshall	128	1961-1979
3	John Randle	114	1990-2000
4	Alan Page	108.5	1967-1978
5	Chris Doleman	96.5	1985-1999
6	Jared Allen	85.5	2008-2013
7	Everson Griffen	74.5	2010-2019
8	Doug Martin	61.5	1980-1989
9	Brian Robison	60	2007-2017
9	Kevin Williams	60	2003-2013
11	Henry Thomas	56	1987-1994
12	Danielle Hunter	54.5	2015-2019
13	Keith Millard	53	1985-1990
14	Mark Mullaney	41.5	1975-1986
15	Lance Johnstone	41	2001-2005

The heart of the Purple People Eaters top the list. Carl Eller, Jim Marshall, and Alan Page. Eller and Page are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The release of Marshall’s sack numbers can only help his case to join them. Stacked with his record number of fumble recoveries and his not-human longevity, Marshall’s Hall of Fame resume is a strong one. Unfortunately, what I feel is his greatest football accomplishment, being the heart and soul of one of the league’s greatest teams of the late 1960s and early 1970s, can’t be found at Pro Football Reference. 

John Randle and Chris Doleman joined Eller and Page in Canton. Not enough can be said about the sacking talents of defensive tackles Randle and Page. Thuney and Webster’s new sack leaders are all ends and linebackers. Randle and Page sacked quarterbacks at a ridiculous rate from the interior. They may have had a shorter route to the quarterback but it was a much more crowded route. No one did what they did until current freak Aaron Donald. 

Jared Allen should soon join Eller, Page, Randle, and Doleman in Canton. Allen had an incredible six seasons in Minnesota. It helps that those were his prime years. His learning years were in Kansas City. His fading years were in Chicago and Carolina. He averaged 14 1/4 sacks during those six years in Minnesota. If he’d sacked quarterbacks over his entire career like he did in Minnesota, his 185.25 sacks would be third to Bruce Smith and Reggie White. He’d be a first ballot Hall of Famer. As it is, he will have to wait at least one year. 

Kevin Williams has a shot at the Hall of Fame. He was named All-Decade. He had a handful of All-Pro nods. He was arguably the best three-technique of his generation. Plus, he was one of my favorite players of the 2000s.

Everson Griffen might’ve had a chance to crack 100 career sacks if he didn’t sit behind Jared Allen for four years. I still remember clearly the general shock from the national talking heads when the Vikings gave Griffen a healthy second contract. He’d only started one game over his first four years in the league. “How could the Vikings be so foolish with their money?” The Vikings knew what they had in Griffen. Vikings fans knew what Griffen could do if given a chance. They’d been screaming for the team to get this kid on the field for at least two years. 

Doug Martin and Mark Mullaney had the unfortunate responsibility of being drafted to replace the Purple People Eaters. Both had some solid moments. Martin had some excellent moments. He’s one of the more underrated players in Vikings history. He led the league in sacks during the strike-shortened 1982 season. Seeing as he racked up those sacks in the first season that defensive players ever tackled a quarterback behind the line of scrimmage, Martin must be considered “officially” the first great sacker in league history. 

Brian Robison always seemed to play in the shadow of others. First it was the terrific defensive front of the late 2000s. Jared Allen, Kevin Williams, Pat Williams, and Ray Edwards. Then it was Everson Griffen. Then it was the athletic freak Danielle Hunter. Despite being a productive player and team leader throughout his career, Robison never really got the attention that he deserved. 

Keith Millard was a beast. I met him once and couldn’t stop telling him that. It probably got very annoying. In my defense, how are you supposed to refer to a player that ripped apart the NFL in the manner that he did. If injuries hadn’t whittle away at his talents, he’d be with the other Vikings pass rushing greats in Canton. For a handful of years in the late 1980s, Millard played as well as any interior defensive lineman in league history. He was a beast.

Lance Johnstone was an interesting player for the Vikings. The team didn’t do much shopping in the first ten years of free agency. When he was signed in 2001 he was an under-the-radar signing. He started all 16 games that season. For the next four seasons in Minnesota, Johnstone came off the bench as a pass rush specialist. He was outstanding in that role. He had 10 and 11 sacks in 2003 and 2004. On a defense that didn’t have a lot of standouts he was one. 

Danielle Hunter. He was missed last season. If not for that “tweaked” neck that took away the entire season, he’d be nearing Everson Griffen on this list. The freakishly talented Hunter has everything to be an all-timer. That includes eventually topping the Vikings sack list and joining Eller, Page, Randle, and Doleman in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

The Minnesota Vikings have a great defensive line tradition. This list, thanks to Thuney, Webster, and Pro Football Reference, reflects that.