The 2010s had everything for the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings saw the return of Randy Moss, the cutting of Randy Moss, the firing of head coach Brad Childress, off-field cell phone allegations for Brett Favre, the Metrodome roof collapsing, playing a “home” game in Detroit, and another game got pushed from Sunday to Tuesday night due to a snowstorm. Oh yeah, that was just the 2010 season.
After a three-year stretch of inconsistency with head coach Leslie Frazier, the team hired Mike Zimmer and the team has been competitive ever since, reaching the playoffs three times since 2015 along with a trip to the NFC Championship in 2017. The decade was much like every other decade of Vikings football: a competitive team that was rarely flat-out bad, yet still couldn’t reach the promised land along with off-field issues that leaves one scratching their head. To celebrate, here we will look at the best players of the decade on the offense.
Minnesota Vikings All-Decade Team: Defense
2010s Minnesota Vikings All-Decade Team: The Offense
Quarterback: Kirk Cousins
If not for a catastrophic knee injury prior to the 2016 season, Teddy Bridgewater would likely still be the Vikings quarterback. Bridgewater is the only other player up for consideration here, but since Cousins started all but one game in two seasons (being rested in week 17 of 2019) and won a playoff game against the New Orleans Saints, he gets the nod. His massive contract and expectations from fans will always hang over Cousins, but as a Viking he has 56 touchdowns to 16 interceptions while completing 69.7 percent of his passes. Bridgewater only threw 28 touchdowns to 22 interceptions, so this is an easy decision.
Running Back: Adrian Peterson
An easy selection on the list. The future Hall of Fame running back ran for nearly 1,300 yards in 2010 and then 970 yards in 12 games in 2011 before tearing his ACL on Christmas Eve. Peterson made a miraculous recovery, coming back to play week one in 2012. Then, Peterson not only played but he went on to carry the Vikings to a 10-6 record while rushing for 2,097 yards, eight shy of Eric Dickerson‘s single-season record, and won league MVP. Peterson added two more 1,000 yard seasons before he left following the 2016 season. Despite off-field troubles regarding his child that split the fan base, Peterson was still one of the best Vikings of the entire decade.
Wide Receiver: Adam Thielen
The story of Adam Thielen has been repeated thousands of times, so even though it’s great, we’ll cut right to the chase here. Following three seasons of working his way from practice squad to special teams to a spot on the starting roster, Thielen broke onto the scene in 2016 as he racked up 967 yards and five touchdowns. He showed that the campaign was no fluke in 2017 when he caught 91 passes for 1,276 yards. In 2018 he eclipsed 100 receptions for the first time in his career and caught a career-high nine touchdowns. And despite a hamstring injury nagging him in 2019, Thielen played an instrumental part in the team’s wild card victory over the Saints, catching seven passes for 129 yards and a spectacular reception to set up the victory.
Wide Receiver: Stefon Diggs
Despite being traded to the Buffalo Bills following the 2019 season, Diggs’ on-field impact will never be forgotten in Minnesota. He racked up 365 receptions for 4,623 yards and 30 touchdowns from 2015 to 2019. And, of course, he is remembered for being on the receiving end of the Minneapolis Miracle. While his off-field antics were much-publicized in 2019, his impact was undeniable as he still torched defenses for 1,130 yards on only 63 receptions and six touchdowns. He did this without Adam Thielen at full-health for a good portion of the season as well.
Wide Receiver: Percy Harvin
Harvin is the last of the receivers on this list and, honestly, there isn’t much competition. Even though the Vikings had Adrian Peterson during Harvin’s time, the offense revolved around Harvin in 2011 and 2012. He also returned kicks, so his impact was unquestioned. The team threw him screen passes and ran end-arounds just to get the ball in his hands as he eclipsed 1,000 scrimmage yards in 2011. Before injuries ended his season in 2012, Harvin actually carried the Vikings offense even more than Peterson did before Peterson knocked off any post-injury rust. Much like Diggs, the off-field antics became too much and he was eventually shipped to the Seattle Seahawks following 2012.
Tight End: Kyle Rudolph
This is the easiest decision on the list. There simply isn’t any competition for Rudolph. Not only do Rudolph’s 47 touchdown receptions rank first all-time among Vikings tight ends, they rank him fifth all-time among all receivers on the team. His 425 receptions in the decade also place him fifth all-time among all receivers on the team and second among all tight ends. Despite a reduced role to begin 2019, he got more involved with the offense late and caught the game-winning touchdown against the Saints in the playoffs.
Left Tackle: Riley Reiff
The only real competition here would have been former No. 4 overall pick Matt Kalil, but Kalil’s massive inconsistency was too much to ignore. Reiff isn’t perfect, but he’s a middle-of-the-road left tackle who usually holds his own. On top of that, Reiff has been the quiet but unquestioned leader of the offensive line since 2017 and can play with a mean streak.
Left Guard: Charlie Johnson
This is a hard one. The 2010s were not a great era for interior offensive linemen for the Vikings. While Steve Hutchinson is a Hall of Famer, it isn’t because of anything he did in 2010 and 2011 with the Vikings when his knees began to fail him. We’re going to go with Johnson here just because his slide inside to guard from 2012 to 2014 coincided with some great rushing performances from Adrian Peterson.
Center: John Sullivan
Sullivan started 77 of 80 games for the Vikings from 2010 through 2014. A cerebral and solid interior player, Sullivan was the most consistent part of the Vikings offensive line during the first half of the decade before two back surgeries forced him to miss the entire 2015 season. He played alongside Charlie Johnson in 2012 as Peterson had his historic campaign. He was then cut prior to the 2016 season. His tenure lasted longer than Joe Berger, the only competition on this list, so that gets Sullivan the nod.
Right Guard: Brandon Fusco
The Slippery Rock prospect made his way into the starting lineup in 2012 and became a decent starter. As the Vikings line shuffled over the years, Fusco would jump to left guard every once in awhile as well. Despite not being overly dominant, Fusco was a solid run blocker, again part of Adrian Peterson’s most productive campaigns.
Right Tackle: Phil Loadholt
While Brian O’Neill looks to be well on his way to possibly becoming a better player than Loadholt over the course of his career, Loadholt still started 74 of 80 games prior to an injury in the 2015 preseason essentially ended his career. The 6-8, 345 pound mammoth could get beat by speed rushers in the passing game but if he got his hands on an opponent, it was over. Another piece of Peterson’s 2012 MVP campaign, Loadholt was at his best as a run blocker when he could maul on smaller defenders.
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