Minnesota Vikings: Top 10 QBs in franchise history
By Dan Zinski
Dec 15, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings honor former quarterback Daunte Culpepper before the game with the Philadelphia Eagles at Mall of America Field at H.H.H. Metrodome. The Vikings win 48-30. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
2. Daunte Culpepper
No quarterback ever came into the league with more raw physical ability than Daunte Culpepper. Unfortunately Culpepper never came close to living up to his great potential.
Some were surprised (and a bit dismayed) when Dennis Green selected Culpepper #11 overall in the 1999 draft.
Culpepper would sit his rookie season, being handed the keys to the Vikings’ supercharged offense in his second full year.
With receivers Randy Moss and Cris Carter split wide and Robert Smith in the backfield, Culpepper led the Vikings to the playoffs in 2000, throwing a league-high 33 touchdowns.
Culpepper would put up more huge numbers from 2002-2004, culminating in his extraordinary 4,717-yard, 39-TD season of 2004.
In ’04, Culpepper led the Vikings to a playoff victory against Brett Favre and the Packers at Lambeau Field, one of the most unlikely wins in franchise history.
That game would prove to be the high-point of Culpepper’s career.
The Vikings traded away the embattled Randy Moss after the 2004 season, and Culpepper would begin 2005 looking lost without his favorite target.
And then in the 8th game of the season Culpepper suffered a catastrophic knee injury that would prove to be the end of his Vikings career.
Culpepper would move on from Minnesota after 2005 but would never regain the form he showed during his time with the Vikes.
The question is still being asked by fans to this day: How much of Culpepper’s success was attributable to having Randy Moss on the field, and how much was due to Culpepper’s own ability?
Moss surely played a big part in Culpepper’s success, but Culpepper’s physical tools were undeniable, and for a brief moment he looked like a possible future Hall of Famer.
As with Tommy Kramer, Culpepper’s story is ultimately one of wasted potential.