This week, I'll be counting down the 25 biggest draft "steals" in Vikings history. This list encompasses several different eras of the draft and goes all the way back to the Vikings' first draft in 1961. Undrafted free agents weren't considered (sorry, John Randle).
So who's left in the top 10? Let's get through five of them right now:
10. Bobby Bell (2nd round, 1963): Oh, what could have been. Bell was drafted by the Vikings in the second round in 1963. But instead of playing for Minnesota, he opted to go to the rival AFL and play for the Chiefs — where he went on to have a Hall of Fame career. Still, the Vikings knew what they were doing when they drafted him.
9. Alan Page (1st round, 15th overall, 1967): Exactly 50 years ago, the Vikings had three first-round draft picks. The first two were fine choices (Clint Jones and Gene Washington), but the third ended up being Hall of Fame defensive lineman Alan Page — one of the greatest and most fascinating Vikings to ever play the game.
8. Ed McDaniel (5th round, 1992): He was a classic, run-stopping linebacker who started 109 career games for the Vikings (and nearly 100 consecutive in the mid-to-late 1990s). McDaniel was on some awfully good Vikings teams, as evidenced by his appearance in 11 career playoff games.
7. Everson Griffen (4th round, 2010): Griffen had off-field questions coming out of college, but he has emerged on and off the field since then. He has 30.5 combined sacks over the past three seasons playing for Mike Zimmer and has been named to the Pro Bowl each of the last two years. Last season he had two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries as well.
