The Hall of Fame Series: Carl Eller
Class of 2004
Minnesota 1964-78
Seattle 1979
Heading into 1964, the Minnesota Vikings were still finding their footing in the NFL. The team was 10-30-2 after three seasons, setting them up with the sixth-overall pick in the draft. There, first-year general manager Jim Finks selected Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive tackle Carl Eller. The former Gopher was a consensus All-American and remains the last Gopher to be selected in the top 10 of the draft.
Eller was also selected by the Buffalo Bills fifth overall in the AFL draft. Unlike Hall of Fame linebacker Bobby Bell a year earlier, Eller chose the hometown Vikings over the rival AFL. The second piece of the Purple People Eaters had been added, bookending Jim Marshall.
Standing 6-6, 247 pounds, Eller had been named “Moose.” With size, power, and speed, Eller terrorized offenses from the start, recording 7.5 sacks as a rookie and helping lead Minnesota to their first winning season in franchise history. With the arrival of defensive tackles Gary Larsen in 1965 and Alan Page in 1967, the Purple People Eaters were formed.
In 1968, with the unit gelling and in its second season under head coach Bud Grant, Eller and the defense took off. Eller was named first-team All-Pro for the first time, racking up eight sacks. In 1969, he led the NFL with 15 sacks, a mark that would be a career-high, and helped the Vikings get to their first Super Bowl. Eller even added three sacks in three playoff games to end the season.
Eller would end up being named first-team All-Pro five times (1968-71, ‘73). For his efforts, Eller was given the George Halas Award, presented to the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. In 1967 and 1972, he was still good enough to earn second-team All-Pro honors.
Eller didn’t receive as many accolades following the 1973 season, but don’t let that fool you into thinking his play fell off. From 1974 through 1977, Eller continued chasing quarterbacks down, notching 45 sacks. His only postseason award was a trip to the Pro Bowl following the 1974 season, his sixth and final trip to the game.
In 1977, Eller tied his career-high with 15 sacks. How he got ignored for All-Pro or Pro Bowl nods is baffling, to say the least. While Harvey Martin was an obvious choice with 20 sacks, guys like Lyle Alzado, Claude Humphrey, and Jack Youngblood all received honors despite not posting more than ten sacks.
Up through 1977, Eller had started all but two games as a Viking. This changed in 1978 when 1975 first-round selection Mark Mullaney stole half of the possible 14 starts. At the age of 36, Eller still got to the quarterback five times. It would be his final season in purple.
Eller would play one final season with Seattle in 1979 before retiring. When he hung it up, Eller had 133.5 career sacks, tied for 18th overall (with John Abraham) on Pro Football Reference’s unofficial sack leaders list. At the time of his retirement, Eller’s 23 fumble recoveries ranked third all-time among non-quarterbacks.
With his long-overdue induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004, Eller became the second member of the feared defensive line to enter Canton (and hopefully not the last). His impact is still felt with both the Gophers and Vikings. Every season, the Gophers’ Defensive Player of the Year receives the Carl Eller Award, and his name still resides in the Vikings’ Ring of Honor to this day.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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