Minnesota Vikings: 5 Best Receivers of All Time

After a dismal 2011-12 campaign. The Minnesota Vikings have plenty of questions to answer heading into the upcoming season. One hot topic is how productive the upgraded receiving corps can be.

With the development of quarterback Christian Ponder and star running back Adrian Peterson coming off an ACL injury, the receivers will have to be an improved bunch.

This concern got me thinking about other Viking receivers that have made their mark in fans' memories—Insert reminiscing scene here.

5. Sammy White

Saying that Roger Goodell probably would have fined Jack Tatum's hit on Sammy White in Super Bowl XI is the understatement of the year. They just don't let them launch like they used to.

While famous for the play, White is one of Minnesota's most memorable pass catchers.

He ranks in the top five in Vikings history in receiving yards with 6,400 and TDs with 50.

Playing 10 seasons from 1976 to 1985, White was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and amassed 393 receptions and was named AP Rookie of the Year.

It really was a good catch.

Too bad the Vikes lost 32-14.

4. Jake Reed

In most Vikings fans' minds, Reed was the second banana, fiddle—and every other saying that refers to a sidekick—to legend Cris Carter.

He was also drafted as a result of one of the most ridiculously big trades ever.

All of that being said, Jake Reed carved himself a very respectable career in Minnesota bringing in 413 balls for 6,433 yards and 33 touchdowns.

Fourth all time in receiving yards and fifth in receptions, Reed is well recognized in the Vikings rankings lists. 

One of the better No. 2 receivers ever to play the game, he finished his career with a tantalizing 6,999 yards while completing his last year in New Orleans.

3. Anthony Carter

Anthony Carter was the mold that Percy Harvin was cut from.

At 5'11" the speedster was utilized in many different ways, currently holding a postseason single game record for all purpose yards. In the 1987 NFC championship game, "AC" had total yards of 227 receiving, 30 rushing and 385 return for a ridiculous 642 yards of production.

Hauling in 52 touchdowns and 7,636 yards, Carter ranks third in both categories in Vikings records. He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection in 1987 and 1988.

At the time of his graduation from University of Michigan in 1982, he held pretty much every conceivable receiving and return record imaginable.

2. Randy Moss

The dude was a freak.

Breaking into the league in 1998, Moss was a centerpiece for the Vikes becoming a No. 1 offense that scored a then NFL-record 556 points.

It's impossible to pull out any one standout highlight, although if you YouTube his early years like I did, you'll see that no one still has been able to replicate him.

In a purple uniform, Moss snatched 587 receptions, 92, touchdowns and gained 9,316 yards in seven and kind of one season. All of which are second all-time for the Vikes.

It's like they had some sort of mathematical formula about how many times he had to touch the ball...

1. Cris Carter

Cris Carter's initial season with Minnesota yielded 27 receptions for 413 yards and only three touchdowns.

Then it was time to play.

With a changing team dynamic, Carter stepped into his own in the early '90s and ripped off eight straight seasons of over 1,000 yards receiving starting in 1993. An overall talent, Carter is one of if not the best possession receiver of all time despite being dubbed as the "touchdown machine" after ESPN analyst Chris Berman gave his famous tagline of "all he does is catch touchdowns."

Carter is considered only second to Jerry Rice as the best receiver during the '90s and was named to the all-decade team.

Selected to eight Pro Bowls, Carter leads Minnesota all time in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns—none of which are in immediate danger of being passed.

He finished with 1,004 catches, 12,383 yards, and 110 TDs.

Enough said.