I don’t even know what to think about the loss of Joey Browner following the loss of Jeff Siemon. How do you process the second when you haven’t fully processed the first?
Following the “glory years” of the 1970s, the 1980s were a different sort of time for the Minnesota Vikings. For one thing, they moved from the outdoor wildness of Metropolitan Stadium into the indoor predictably of the Metrodome. For another, wins come as easily. Bud Grant retired after the 1983 season, came back after the disastrous 1984 season, and retired again after the 1985 season. The 1980s were a very different decade after the great success of the 1970s. Seeing as the Vikings won none of the three Super Bowls they played in during the 1970s, any success of that decade is relative. A consistent highlight for the Vikings through the 1980s was the strong play of safety Joey Browner. The 1983 NFL Draft was and will always be best known for the quarterbacks selected in the first round. John Elway, Todd Blackledge, Jim Kelly, Tony Eason, Ken O’Brien, and Dan Marino. All of the six were good. Three of them were great. Elway, Kelly, and Marino have busts in Canton. It was a loaded first round with running back Eric Dickerson, tackle Jimbo Covert, and corner Darrell Green joining the three quarterbacks in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Vikings selected Joey Browner with the 19th pick in the 1983 NFL Draft. It was one of the best picks in franchise history. This was one of the league’s historic first rounds and Browner was a big part of that history. He was a great football player. If not for the injuries that shortened his career, he’d have a bust in Canton. He still played 10 years and was one of the best safeties in the league for about eight of them. For a few of those years, he was the best. Safety peer Kenny Easley played fewer years and was great for fewer years and he just got past the erratic Hall of Fame voters. Browner deserves the same. He probably tops my list of Vikings players that have long waited for and deserves to get that Hall call. For what it’s worth, he has received induction into the Pro Football Researchers Association’s Hall of Very Good. That’s been a stepping stone to Canton for many deserving players.
Since the 1970s, it seems that each decade has brought a singular player that’s become a near universal favorite of Vikings fans. In the 1990s, that player was John Randle. In the 2000s, that player was Randy Moss. For some, that player may have been Antoine Winfield. For the 2010s, that player was, and still is, Harrison Smith. The 2020s are still going but it’s hard to imagine any player topping Justin Jefferson. In the 1980s, that player was Joey Browner. From the safety position, he was a one-man wrecking crew. I will always remember the playoff game against Los Angeles in which he simply took apart the Rams offense. After the game, Rams head coach John Robinson (Browner’s head coach at USC) said that his former player was the best defensive player in the league. He wasn’t wrong. Joey Browner was a great football player. Somehow, he was a great football player that’s ridiculously underrated.
Losing people is perhaps the most painful price for seeing more years. I’ve been a fan of the Minnesota Vikings for over 50 years. Every player that’s played and every coach that’s coached for the team means something to me. Losing Jeff Siemon and Joey Browner in one day is a rough one.
RIP Joey Browner
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