One-season wonders: Minnesota Vikings

It is hard not to enjoy a one-hit wonder, even if you know musical act may not have much more to offer.

Minnesota Vikings fans are very familiar with that feeling. Some of the franchise’s best quarterbacks popped for one season but it ended up being their only productive year in purple and gold.

But quarterbacks are hardly the only Vikings position group to blow up for a year then return to their normal level of play. Whether it is because of injuries, luck, being in the right situation or a short stay in the Twin Cities, the Vikings have had plenty of players have a one-hit-wonder season.

Here’s the best of the bunch: (Note: listed in alphabetical order)

RB Michael Bennett (2002)

It may not be completely fair to Bennett to have him on this list since he managed to play five seasons for the Vikings, but his 2002 Pro Bowl season sticks out. After rushing for 682 yards as a rookie in 2001, Bennett burst out for 1,296 rushing yards and five scores, along with 37 catches for 351 yards and a touchdown. Bennett rushed for 447 yards and averaged 5.0 yards per carry the following season, but injuries sidelined him for about half the season.

LB Jeff Brady (1996)

Brady bounced around the NFL for years before winding up in Minnesota in 1995. He was a decent middle linebacker in that first season and made a big improvement in 1996 when he led the Vikings with 101 tackles, recovered three fumbles and recorded three interceptions.

WR Nate Burleson (2004)

Before he ever a co-host of Good Morning Football, Burleson suited up for Minnesota. Burleson had a decent rookie year after he was drafted out of Nevada by the Vikings in 2003, then exploded for 68 catches for 1,006 yards and nine touchdowns in 2004. His production dipped in 2005 and after that season he left for the Seattle Seahawks, but he will always have his 2004 season.

QB Randall Cunningham (1998)

For as good as Cunningham was with the Philadelphia Eagles, he had his best season in 1998 when he was the starting quarterback for the 15-1 Vikings team that made it to the NFC championship game. That year he passed for 3,704 yards, a career-high 34 touchdowns and 10 picks and was named a first-team All-Pro while making his fourth Pro Bowl. He only started nine games combined for Minnesota in 1997 and 1999 but had plenty of gas in the tank for the season in between.

QB Brett Favre (2009)

For better or worse, the 2009 season was one of the most memorable in team history and that is mainly because of Favre. The Mississippi gunslinger terrorized the Vikings for years in Green Bay and served revenge to the cheeseheads twice that season, proving he still had it at age 40. Favre may not have made an All-Pro team in 2009, but still led the team to the NFC championship game, throwing for 4,202 yards, 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

QB Case Keenum (2017)

Keenum is the most recent Vikings signal caller to lead the franchise to the NFC championship game and is probably the least heralded to do so. He joined the team as a career backup and that was his role on the team until Week 2 when he replaced the injured Sam Bradford. From there, Keenum took off with 3,547 passing yards, 22 touchdowns and seven picks and rushed for 160 yards and a score. He guided the team to a 13-3 record and was part of one of the best plays in Vikings history.

DE Al Noga (1989)

Picked in the third round from Hawaii in the 1988 NFL draft, Noga made a big impact on the Vikings in 1989 when he finished the season with 11.5 sacks. He had some more respectable years in Minnesota but could not repeat his 1989 campaign.

TE Joe Senser (1981)

The Vikings tight end had a fantastic season in 1981. He caught 79 balls for 1,004 yards and eight touchdowns and made the Pro Bowl for those efforts. Injuries caused his numbers to drop off and limited his NFL career to five seasons.

WR Sidney Rice (2009)

Rice had his best season with the Vikings in 2009, almost assuredly because his quarterback play improved. In his first two seasons he had 537 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in seven combined starts, but in 2009 his numbers ballooned to 83 catches, 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns en route to his only career Pro Bowl appearance.

S Brian Russell (2003)

Undrafted out of San Diego State in 2001, Russell landed with Minnesota and spent time on the practice squad or as a backup with the Vikings before leading the NFL with nine interceptions in 2003. That season, his first as a full-time starter, Russell picked off six passes in the first six weeks of the season and later recorded two interceptions in the Vikings’ 45-20 Week 16 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. He also had career highs in passes defensed (11) and total tackles (95) in 2003. Russell went on to have a solid NFL career after that season, but he never reached the statistical marks of 2003.

K Blair Walsh (2012)

We all know how Walsh will be remembered as a Viking, but he was remarkable for the Minnesota as a rookie in 2012. That season Walsh connected on 92.1% of his field-goal attempts, made all his extra points and was recognized with a trip to the Pro Bowl and  being named a first-team All-Pro. Not only that, but also he made all 10 of his attempts from 50 or more yards, which is an NFL record.