Top Ten Minnesota Vikings Quarterbacks

The time between the last offseason practice and the start of training camp is about six weeks. It feels at least twice that. To help pass that time, I’ll be ranking the best at each position in the franchise history of the Minnesota Vikings. As always, first up is the quarterbacks.

Fran Tarkenton retired after the 1978 season as the holder of every career league passing record. He held those records longer than any quarterback ever has. Tarkenton was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986. It can be argued that the Vikings are still looking for their next franchise quarterback. There’s been many contenders and a handful of hopefuls but no quarterback has truly taken the reigns for an extended period of time since 1978.

Top Ten Minnesota Vikings Quarterbacks

1.   Fran Tarkenton

2.   Tommy Kramer

3.   Kirk Cousins

4.   Daunte Culpepper 

5.   Warren Moon

6.   Brett Favre

7.   Randall Cunningham

8.   Joe Kapp

9.   Brad Johnson

10. Wade Wilson

The first four are straightforward. The order after Fran Tarkenton can vary by observer. I went with Tommy Kramer at #2 simply because he was so much fun when he was on the field. The only problem was the scattered injuries throughout his career. Kirk Cousins and Daunte Culpepper each had six seasons as the Vikings starting quarterback. Both had terrific moments and put up excellent numbers. Culpepper even had an MVP-worthy season. Of the old-farts, Warren Moon gets the edge over Randall Cunningham and Brett Favre because his time in Minnesota lasted about 2.5 seasons. Cunningham and Favre had only one season. Other than the end of them, both seasons were brilliant.

I would understand just about any ranking after the first four. 

If J.J. McCarthy can bring a Lombardi (hopefully several) to Minnesota, he immediately challenges Fran Tarkenton.