Daily Norseman
Welcome to the All-Time Favorite Viking Team series. We’re going through and voting by position for your favorite Viking players. There are no set criteria other than they played for the Minnesota Vikings. It’s your favorite player at that position.
We have the hardest part on the field left. It’s the d-line. I will put the Vikings history on the D-Line up there with any team. We’ll start with the Defensive Ends. It does get a little tricky, so I made some judgement calls. John Randle is a DT in my book. This list is deep.
Carl Eller (1964-1978)
133 1⁄2 Sacks
Eller was one of the greats. He was 5x First Team All-Pro, 6x Pro Bowl, 1x Second Team All-Pro, 1970s NFL All Decade Team, 50 Greatest Vikings, 25th Annivsersary Team, 40th Anniversary Team, Ring of Honor Member and Hall of Famer. He was also All American at the University of Minnesota. He was a steal with the 6th overall pick. He also founded a group of substance abuse clinics around the Twin Cities.
Jared Allen (2008-2013)
136 Sacks, 1 FF, 6 INTs, 648 Tackles
Allen was a fan favorite and a beast off the edge in his time in Minnesota. He didn’t always play the most disciplined, but QBs feared him. His 22 sack season in 2011 was phenominal. Terrell Suggs ridiculously won the Defensive Player of the Year over him with 8 less sacks. Allen was 4x First Team All-Pro, 5x Pro Bowl, 50 Greatest Vikings, Ring of Honor, and Hall of Fame. The Vikings didn’t get all of Allen’s years, but they got the best.
Chris Doleman (1985-1993, 1999)
150 1⁄2 Sacks, 44 FF, 8 INTs, 975 Tackles
Doleman was a fumble making machine. He was 8x Pro Bowler, 2x First Team All-Pro, 2x Second Team All-Pro, 1990s NFL All Decade Team, 50 Greatest Vikings, Ring of Honor, and Hall of Fame. Doleman had 21 sacks and 5 forced fumbles in 1989. He died of brain cancer in January 2020 and was honored at Super Bowl LIV prior to the game a few days later.
Jim Marshall (1961-1979)
130 1⁄2 Sacks, 3 FF, 1 INT
Marshall only made two Pro Bowls in his career. He played for 20 years, 19 of them for the Vikings. His 270 concescutive starts record stood for 31 years before Favre broke it. There’s no one who has a chance to get near them in the foreseeable future.
Danielle Hunter (2015-2023)
99 1⁄2 Sacks, 12 FF, 508 Tackles
Hunter came from LSU with big upside potential, but lack of production in college. Hunter has been selected to 5 Pro Bowls. It took him until Week 15 his rooke year to exceed his college sack total in the NFL. He came in and made an immediate impact and was the only consistent pass rusher on the Vikings for a long time.
Everson Griffen (2010-2019, 2021)
85 1⁄2 Sacks, 10 FF, 2 INTs, 403 Tackles
Griffen made 4 Pro Bowls, 1x Second Team...
