Ranking all the Minnesota Vikings in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
By Adam Carlson
![(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/bed378ba355dd37778b01595dd288f205384d9ca7e1702ad02ce07fe537ef36c.jpg)
10. Carl Eller
- Position: Defensive end
- Years with Vikings: 1964–1978
- Years in the NFL: 1964–1979
- Other teams associated with: Seattle Seahawks
- Enshrinement year: 2004
Carl Eller’s roots in Minnesota are well established. Although he was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and played his high school football there, he made the choice to play his college football at the University of Minnesota, where he helped lead the team to a Rose Bowl win.
The Vikings chose Eller with the #6 overall selection in the 1964 NFL Draft. He immediately became a force to be reckoned with and established himself as a key piece of the Purple People Eaters defense which won the 1969 NFL Championship.
Over his 16 seasons in the league, Eller was named to the Pro Bowl 6 times and an All-Pro 7 times, but his biggest accomplishment was being named Defensive Player of the Year in 1971.
Eller’s biggest accomplishments may be off the football field, where he became a licensed drug and alcohol counselor and founded Triumph Life Centers in 1986. Then, he achieved a degree in Human Services from Metropolitan State University in 1994 and worked for the Minnesota Department of Human Services.