10 greatest Minnesota Vikings safety duos of all-time

4. Robert Griffith and Orlando Thomas (1996–2001)

• 6 seasons
• 30 interceptions
• 8 fumble recoveries
• 2 touchdowns
• 163 starts

The safety duo of Robert Griffith and Orlando Thomas played more seasons together than any other duo on this list. Their total of 30 interceptions is the second-most on the list and their 163 combined starts lead all safety duos in team history.

Griffith joined the Vikings as a free agent in 1994 following a season with the Sacramento Goldminers of the CFL. By 1996, he was in the starting lineup and he ended up starting 88 games over eight seasons in Minnesota. He finished his NFL career with three seasons in Cleveland and two in Arizona.

Thomas, a second-round draft pick of the Vikings in 1995, started 11 games as a rookie and led the NFL with nine interceptions. The following year, Griffith joined him on Minnesota’s starting defense.

Their best season was their first season together when they combined for nine interceptions in 1996.

For this duo, 2001 was the last season for both players with the Vikings as Thomas retired and Griffith moved on to play for the Browns. Thomas was responsible for both touchdowns, scoring one on a fumble recovery in 1997 and the second off of an interception in 1999. Thomas’ 22 interceptions tie him with John Turner for the seventh-most in Minnesota franchise history.

3. Darren Sharper and Dwight Smith (2006-2007)

• 2 seasons
• 16 interceptions
• 1 fumble recovery
• 2 touchdowns
• 59 starts

Neither Darren Sharper nor Dwight Smith started or ended their careers with the Vikings, but for two seasons they intersected in Minnesota.

Sharper, a second-round draft pick in 1997, played eight seasons with the Green Bay Packers before signing with the Vikings as a free agent in 2005. Sharper was joined in the defensive backfield by Smith, a third-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001, who signed with the Vikings in 2006.

Their average of eight interceptions per season is tied for the second-most of any duo on the list and their two touchdowns tied them with the most of any of the safety duos included.

After two years and 29 starts, Minnesota released Smith following the 2007 season. Smith played for one more year in the league with the Detroit Lions. Sharper played one more season with the Vikings after Smith left and he and finished his career by spending two years with the New Orleans Saints.