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Multiple Minnesota Vikings Make Exclusive NFL All Quarter Century Team
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- Multiple Minnesota Vikings Make Exclusive NFL All Quarter Century Team
Tony Tomsic-Imagn Images Tony Tomsic-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Vikings have played in ten NFC Championship games and four Super Bowls since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970. Yet, they've lifted the Lombardi Trophy a total of zero times in those 56 seasons . The Vikings ' last big game appearance came during the 1976 NFL season.
That means NFL fans who are 49 and younger have never witnessed the Vikings play in a Super Bowl. We've still had our fair share of success, however. In fact, the Vikings are far and away the most successful organization in NFL history to never win a ring.
Th Ravens have the third-best franchise winning percentage in the Super Bowl Era. pic.twitter.com/A2iTSChSq1
— Ravens Nation ππππ (@LIVERavenNation) June 14, 2024
A glance around the Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor will quickly shed light on just how much talent has gone through this organization during it's storied history.
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Four Minnesota Vikings make All Quarter Century Team
But some Vikings greats rise above even their ROH cohorts. Players throughout the team's history who are seen as some of the greatest of all time; not just in Minnesota, but league-wide.
This week, ESPN paid homage to the first 25 years of the 21st century by creating an NFL All-Quarter Century Team . Four Minnesota Vikings players made the list, including one current Viking, Justin Jefferson , who only played in a fifth of the seasons being judged.
Justin Jefferson – Wide Receiver
Of the six wide receivers selected to ESPN's All Quarter Century Team, Jefferson is the only active player (but not the only Viking). Justin has had the best start to a career of any wide receiver ever, but it's still incredibly impressive to make this list, just based on how much time he had to do it.
"Jefferson has played only five NFL seasons, but what amazing seasons they have been. When he won the Offensive Player of the Year award in 2022, he was No. 1 in receptions, yards and DYAR. He ranked in the top three for DYAR in three of his other seasons (2020, 2021 and 2024), with at least 1,400 receiving yards in each of them. The only exception is 2023, when he played only 10 games because of injury but still managed to top 1,000 yards."
JUSTIN JEFFERSON WITH THE CATCH OF HIS LIFE π±
(via @Vikings ) pic.twitter.com/nq86h630tO— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 13, 2022
This season, the Minnesota Vikings will take the field looking to improve upon a 14-win campaign. J.J. McCarthy is under center as the starting quarterback, and recently extended general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has supplied him with plenty of new talent. But his most lethal weapon remains Justin Jefferson.
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The Vikings landed Jefferson with the 22nd overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. His career 96.5 yards per game is an all-time NFL record. He has surpassed 1,000 yards in each of his first five professional seasons and led the league in 2022 with 1,089 yards.
Randy Moss – Wide Receiver
Of course, if Justin Jefferson is going to make the team, then you knew Randy Moss would be on there too. Moss is the most talented wide receiver to ever play the position and one of the most productive in NFL history too.
By the time Moss hung up his cleats he had collected 15,292 receiving yards, 156 touchdowns on 982 receptions. As a Viking, he caught 587 passes, 9,316 yards and 92 touchdowns.
"The greatest receiver of the 21st century based on the eye test, Moss also dominated in advanced metrics. He set the NFL record with 23 receiving touchdowns in 2007, a season that ranks third all-time in DYAR.
Moss ranked No. 1 in receiving DYAR three times: 2000, 2003 and 2007. In each of those seasons, he had at least 1,400 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. He is also the leader in total receiving value by DYAR whether you add together a player's top five seasons or top 10 seasons since 2000. Plus, he's a legend of the podium interview."
On Thanksgiving 20 years ago, a rookie named Randy Moss cooked the Cowboys:
3 rec
163 yds
3 TDs
(via @nflthrowback) https://t.co/mX6EiNrpVJ— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 22, 2018
Immediately after he was drafted in 1998, Randy Moss changed the game of football and put the Minnesota Vikings back on the map. The NFL Hall of Famer led the league in receiving touchdowns five different times, including his 23-touchdown output with the New England Patriots in 2007.
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Steve Hutchinson – Left Guard
The Seattle Seahawks made Steve Hutchinson the 17th overall pick in 2001 , but it was the Minnesota Vikings that adored him as a superstar. After 68 games in Seattle, Hutchinson signed with the Vikings and started 89 games with Minnesota over the course of six seasons.
"Hutchinson made the Pro Bowl every year from 2003 through 2009 and helped lead the 2005 Seahawks to Super Bowl XL, along with Walter Jones. There were a number of relatively equal, strong left guards to choose from, but we went with Hutchinson over Joel Bitonio, Logan Mankins and Quenton Nelson. His impact on the NFL also stretches past the field, as he was part of a deal that led to a rule change about contracts after the "poison pill" that kept Seattle from matching the contract he signed with Minnesota in 2006."
Hutchinson became a mainstay for the Minnesota offensive line and added three more first-team All-Pro selections to the two he generated with the Seahawks. He was a second-team All-Pro during his first season with Minnesota and ripped off a stretch of seven-straight Pro Bowl selections from 2003-2009.
This season the Minnesota Vikings have addressed their offensive line like nothing in recent memory. The tandem of Donovan Jackson and Will Fries would love to generate a Hutchinson level of production.
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Jared Allen – EDGE Rusher
The Minnesota Vikings have one of their best edge rush pairings in recent memory returning this season, in Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel . Before them, it was Danielle Hunter and Brian Robison .
But from 2008-2013 , no Viking got after opposing quarterbacks quite like Jared Allen, something that was reiterated by him making this All Quarter Century Team.
"Allen's peak was incredibly strong, hitting 22.0 sacks (just shy of the single-season record) in 2011. But he was not a one-hit wonder: Allen hit double-digit sacks eight times and tallied the fourth-most sacks in our time span. He also ranks fourth among edge players (if we include J.J. Watt ) in total plus-EPA since 2001 — a measure where defenders who are on the field for positive defensive plays are credited with the resulting EPA."
Allen recorded 85.5 of his 136 total career sacks with the Vikings. Acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs , Allen became a fan favorite and he was recently inducted to the Ring of Honor.
The Hall of Fame came calling for Allen in 2025, and his place was well-deserved. Jared Allen ranks 16th in NFL history for sacks, a stat that did not exist until more recently.
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Someday the Minnesota Vikings will win a Super Bowl. Until then, we'll continue to count as many accolades that don't matter as possible and happily throw this one on top of the pile.
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