Inside The Vikings

Cris Carter's top 5 Vikings WRs of all time includes a surprise at the top

Carter was at the London game and was asked to list his top five receivers in Vikings history.

Will Ragatz

Oct 4, 2024; Watford, United Kingdom; Minnesota Vikings former receivers Cris Carter (80) and Jake Reed (86) at NFL flag football event at The Grove.
Oct 4, 2024; Watford, United Kingdom; Minnesota Vikings former receivers Cris Carter (80) and Jake Reed (86) at NFL flag football event at The Grove. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The Vikings have had two of the greatest wide receivers of all time suit up for their franchise. One of those two thinks the guy playing the position for Minnesota right now is even greater.

Cris Carter was in London this past week for his former team's game against the Jets. Asked by Brandon Marshall to name the top five receivers in Vikings history, Carter gave a slightly surprising answer, putting Justin Jefferson in the top spot over himself and Randy Moss.

"Jake Reed, number five," Carter said. "I'ma go with Anthony Carter number four. I'm gonna go with Randy Moss number three. I'm gonna go with a dude named Cris Carter number two. And they got a dude playing for their team now that is the number one dude."

That is extraordinarily high praise for Jefferson, who is off to one of the best statistical starts to a career any receiver has ever had. Moss is a Hall of Famer who ranks fourth in league history in receiving yards with over 15,000, around 9K of which came with the Vikings. Carter is another HOFer who ranks 13th with just below 14,000 yards, over 12K of which were in Minnesota.

But Jefferson is on pace to get there if he stays healthy and remains a Viking for years to come (he's under contract for four more years after this one). With 6,349 yards in 65 career games, he's likely to pass Sammy White and Jake Reed in his next game and move into the top five in franchise history. In a few games, he'll pass Thielen and be in fourth, behind only Carter, Moss, and Anthony Carter. By mid-November, Jefferson will likely have broken Torry Holt's NFL record for the most receiving yards in a player's first five seasons.

After the game on Sunday, Marshall attended the Vikings' press conferences and told Jefferson where Carter had ranked him.

"Wow, that's crazy," Jefferson said. "To put me in front of him, that's something that kind of speaks for itself. You know as a receiver, you're never putting somebody else in front of you, especially how Cris Carter has played and what he has done for the Vikings organization. That's special. Words don't even reflect how I feel about that. But to say the guys that came from the Vikings, Randy Moss, Jake Reed, there's plenty of guys that came in this purple and gold that had the right to say that they're one of the top receivers that ever came through. For him to list me number one is very special. I have goosebumps kind of thinking about it."

"But Cris Carter has been my guy ever since I came into the league," Jefferson added. "He was my mentor coming into the combine. For him to still be here and still to give me those words of wisdom and kind of be in my ear and just telling me what to do and what not to do and being the player that I am, very special."

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

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