Vikings fans are angry about Daunte Culpepper being called a legend
By Adam Patrick
Depending on who you ask, Daunte Culpepper is the second-best quarterback to ever suit up for the Minnesota Vikings, behind only the legendary Fran Tarkenton.
Speaking of legendary, Culpepper was recently placed in this category by PFF's Sam Monson when he was selected as the one former Vikings legend who could help out the current roster.
Adding a legend to every current NFC North roster
— PFF (@PFF) May 21, 2023
Who would you add?
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Minnesota Vikings fans take issue with PFF granting Daunte Culpepper legend status
Despite his success during his time in the Twin Cities, some Minnesota fans were flabbergasted by Monson's selection of Culpepper for this exercise.
Dante Culpepper a Legend??
— Broadcast B (@Broadcast_B) May 21, 2023
Out of all the Vikings legends and out of all our positions of need why would you choose Culpepper
— Luke ❄️ IN KWESI WE TRUST (@thebetterluke) May 21, 2023
Culpepper was a good QB for the Vikings but was far from a legend.
— JJDEMARAY (@JJDEMARAY) May 21, 2023
I can name 50 legends for Minnesota better than Culpepper. And that's not taking anything away from Culpepper#Skol
— ButlerNut (@Vikes_Dawgs) May 21, 2023
Culpepper? The guy had world talent but he was only good every other year. The years he wasn’t good he was absolute ass.
— Chris Duncanson (@SpyderFenix) May 21, 2023
Kirk Cousins is more of a legend for Minnesota. At least he’s consistently good. https://t.co/PeTTMlBImC
Culpepper is a legend??? Over Tark??? https://t.co/OdSKHxVDom
— Michael Murphy (@Cadman2112) May 21, 2023
There were a few positive reactions, but the majority of the responses from Vikings fans were filled with a significant amount of confusion and disagreement.
However, it seems like we need to point out that PFF was attempting to add a legend to "every current NFC North roster" in this exercise. Monson based his selection on the current state of the NFL and which former Minnesota player he would like to see in their prime in 2023.
Here's how Monson explained his choice of Culpepper on a recent episode of the "PFF NFL Show".
"Much like Michael Vick was a player outside of his era, where they didn't really know what to do with him, I want to see prime Daunte Culpepper in this offense, in the modern era, knowing what they [can] do with a quarterback that can outrun people and run over linebackers."
In terms of prime Culpepper, he's likely referring to the quarterback's performance during the 2004 season. During that campaign, he completed 69.2 percent of his passes for 4,717 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, in addition to also rushing for 406 yards and two scores.
It's certainly an interesting choice considering all of the other legends Monson could have selected, especially for the current Vikings defense that is coming off of a terrible 2022 season.
But if prime Culpepper is leading a high-powered Minnesota offense up and down the field in every game next season, then the team probably won't need that much help from their defense anyway.
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