Minnesota Vikings: Top 30 draft picks 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
28. Daunte Culpepper
A lot of folks questioned Dennis Green’s decision to take Daunte Culpepper with the 11th overall pick in the 1999 draft.
Culpepper sat as a rookie but took over as the starting QB in 2000, and with lots of great offensive weapons around him including future Hall of Famer Cris Carter, he took the Vikes all the way to the NFC title game that year.
Daunte put up incredible numbers for a five-year stretch from 2000 to 2004, culminating in a near-MVP season in 2004, when he again took the Vikes to the postseason.
It all fell apart for Culpepper in 2005 when he blew out his knee. The Vikings traded him away after the season and he was never the same again.
True, Culpepper never fully lived up to his potential, but his brilliant play during his best years showed that Green made a wise choice in tabbing him as a franchise QB.