5 best Vikings deep-ball passers of the last 25 years
By Dustin Baker
3. Daunte Culpepper (1999-2005)
Percentage:
- 2.19
Numbers:
- 2,741 pass attempts
- 60 completions of 40+ yards
- 29 TDs of 40+ yards
For an extended moment, Daunte Culpepper was the quarterback godsend the Vikings had craved for two decades. He had a rocket launcher for an arm, he was a chore to tackle, and he was an apt playmaker.
He also had his follies. In his five full seasons as Minnesota’s signal-caller, he led the NFL in fumbles. Despite being remembered quite favorably by Vikings loyalists, Culpepper only had a 38-42 (.474) record as the team’s starter. Embarrassingly, he was also 11-24 (.275) in road games, which is historically low for a quarterback that excelled with individual statistics like he did.
As for deep passes, Culpepper was one who had the luxury of throwing to Randy Moss–and that’s pretty much a rubber-stamp for grandeur.
Moss grabbed 43 percent of Culpepper’s completions of 40 yards or more. Other leaders included Kelly Campbell (eight catches), Cris Carter (six catches), Marcus Robinson (five catches), and Nate Burleson (four catches) to name a handful.