The 30 greatest Minnesota Vikings players of all-time
By Adam Patrick
60. . DE. (1964-78). Carl Eller. 9. player
All-time Greatest Minnesota Vikings: No. 9 – Carl Eller
Carl Eller is easily one of the best pass rushers to ever put on a Vikings uniform. The NFL did not officially begin to keep track of sacks as a statistic until 1982, but the defensive end is currently Minnesota’s all-time sack leader with 130 in his career, according to the team’s official website.
In addition to being the Vikings’ all-time leader in career sacks, Eller is also the only player in the team’s history to record 15 or more sacks in at least two seasons.
He was a part of Minnesota’s infamous defensive line known as the “Purple People Eaters” that helped propel the team to four Super Bowl appearances in the first 16 years of the franchise’s existence.
Eller and fellow Vikings defensive linemen Alan Page, Jim Marshall, and Gary Larsen, were all voted to the Pro Bowl in 1969. That is still the only time in league history where all four members of a team’s starting defensive line went to the Pro Bowl during the same season.
Including that year, Eller was voted to six Pro Bowls, and he was also a five-time First-Team All-Pro selection.
The defensive end is a member of Minnesota’s Ring of Honor, he was selected as one of the Vikings’ 50 greatest players of all-time, and he was also inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
– AP