NFL history: The Mount Rushmore of every NFL franchise

Minnesota Vikings: Fran Tarkenton, Adrian Peterson, Cris Carter, Randy Moss

While Fran Tarkenton is always thought about as a Minnesota Vikings star, he was actually traded away early in his career — but then came back later and had most of his success. Tarkenton played in Minnesota from 1961 through 1966 but had just one winning season as a starter. He was then traded to the New York Giants, where he played from 1967 through 1971.

He was then traded back to Minnesota and brought the team to three Super Bowls. Minnesota ended up losing all of those championship games, but Tarkenton still carved out a name for himself as a scrambling quarterback with a knack for come-from-behind wins.

Tarkenton is joined on this list by three more offensive weapons who could have dominated the league if all four were able to play together in their prime. Adrian Peterson is the one player to truly threaten Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record and is the best running back to ever play in Minnesota.

The Vikings also had the luxury of putting Cris Carter and Randy Moss on the same field. Carter played with Minnesota for 12 seasons and had 12,383 yards through the air and 110 touchdown catches.

When Carter was 33 years of age, the team added Moss to its roster and the young wideout came out of the gates with 1,313 yards and 17 touchdowns. In his first six seasons with the team, Moss had more than 1,000-yards receiving and ended his time with the Vikings by recording 92 touchdowns in eight years.