Minnesota Vikings: Top 30 draft picks in franchise history
By Dan Zinski
Aug 8, 2015; Canton, OH, USA; Carl Eller during the TimkenSteel Grand Parade on Cleveland Ave. in advance of the 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
6. Carl Eller
The Minnesota Golden Gophers won a Rose Bowl during Carl Eller’s time with the program. In 1964 the Vikings took the star defensive end with the no. 6 overall pick in the draft.
Eller would go on to have the kind of career you would expect from a no. 6 overall draft pick. And more.
Eller played 15 years with the Vikings, going to four Super Bowls as a member of the vaunted Purple People Eaters.
He made the Pro Bowl six times with Minnesota and was named first-team All-Pro five times.
In 1971 the Newspaper Enterprise Association named him the NFL defensive player of the year.
He finished his NFL career with 133 1/2 sacks. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
Few men have added as much to the tradition of Minnesota sports as Carl Eller.