The top 10 pass rushing duos in Minnesota Vikings history
By Tim Arcand
2: Chris Doleman and Henry Thomas (1987 – 1993)
- 7 games
- 210 games
- 134 sacks
Chris Doleman makes his third appearance in the ranking —the most of any player included in the ranking along with Jared Allen. It might be a surprise to find Henry Thomas on the list this high in the ranking. This combines the franchise’s second and seventh career sack leaders. This duo led the ranking in total sacks with 134 and their average of 19.1 sacks was second only to Allen and Brian Robison.
Doleman and Thomas played together for seven seasons. Their time together included Keith Millard at the front end and John Randle at the back end making for some awesome pass-rushing trios. No doubt playing on a line with three elite pass rushers significantly helped each player’s stats as opposing teams needed to pick their poison, as it was difficult to stop all three.
The Vikings selected Doleman fourth overall in the 1985 draft from the University of Pittsburgh. For his first two seasons with the team, the Vikings utilized a three-four defensive alignment. When the team reverted to a traditional four down linemen, Doleman became the right defensive end and his performance took off. With only 3.5 sacks his first two seasons, Doleman registered 11 in 1987 when Thomas joined the team as a defensive tackle.
Thomas joined the Vikings as a third-round draft pick from LSU in 1987. He made an immediate impact his rookie season starting 11 of 12 games the regulars played that season. He only contributed 2.5 sacks in his rookie season—the fewest during his eight seasons with the Vikings.