Who is the Greatest NFL Draft Pick in Minnesota Vikings History?

The Vikings have drafted eight Pro Football Hall of Famers in their history.

Who is the greatest draft pick in Vikings history?

It's not a super easy question to answer. The Vikings have drafted eight Pro Football Hall of Famers in their history, as well as a few current or recent stars who could get to Canton someday.

Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame selected the best draft pick of all time for all 32 NFL teams, noting that he went with "the best player ever drafted by a team, not the best value ever found by the club."

His choice for the Vikings? Defensive tackle Alan Page, the 15th overall pick in 1967.

The Vikings have had a slew of great defensive players over the years. Offensively, there’s quarterback Fran Tarkenton, guard Randall McDaniel and receiver Randy Moss. Yet nobody was more dominant than Page.

A star out of Notre Dame, Page destroyed NFL offensive lines throughout his 16 seasons in the league, unofficially credited with 148.5 sacks. Page won the 1971 NFL MVP and earned ’70s All-Decade honors, while also helping Minnesota reach four Super Bowls. Page was a five-time first-team All-Pro and became a Hall of Famer in ’88.

It's hard to argue with that pick; Page is indisputably one of the greatest Vikings ever and has a strong argument as the best player in franchise history. He ranks eighth all-time in sacks, made nine consecutive Pro Bowls from 1968-1976, and is one of two defensive players to ever win MVP. Page was one of the leaders of the Purple People Eaters defensive line that helped lead Minnesota to four Super Bowl appearances.

There are a few other players who could reasonably be chosen as the best draft pick in franchise history. Tarkenton, the quarterback on three of those four Super Bowl teams, is up there. He and Page won two of the Vikings' three MVP awards, the other being Adrian Peterson in 2012. Tarkenton was a third-round pick in 1961, the Vikings' first draft as a franchise.

McDaniel is the Vikings' all-time leader in Pro Bowls (11) and first-team All-Pro selections (7), but can a guard be a franchise's best draft pick? Moss, one of the most talented wide receivers to ever play the game, also has to be in consideration. The four other HOFers the Vikings have drafted are Carl Eller, Chris Doleman, Ron Yary, and Bobby Bell.

More recently, players like Kevin Williams, Peterson, Harrison Smith, and Justin Jefferson come to mind. Jefferson, in particular, might have an outside chance to get onto the Page-Tarkenton-McDaniel-Moss tier if he keeps playing at a truly elite level for another 8-10 years. He's off to a historic start to his career.

I think Page is probably the right choice, but you couldn't go wrong with Tarkenton, McDaniel, or Moss either.

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