30 Day Challenge, Day 5: Bringing One Former Minnesota Viking Back

The 30 Day Challenge rolls on, ladies and gentlemen, and we're jumping back into our virtual DeLorean to get some perspective on Minnesota Vikings' history. The topic for today's discussion is this:

Which one player from Vikings' history (in their prime) would you bring back to plug into the current roster?

Given that, in my post earlier today, I listed the offensive line as our favorite team's biggest concern, that's going to be my area of focus. And, for my selection, I'm going to bring back the man that just might stand as the greatest offensive lineman in the history of the franchise. The one historical Minnesota Vikings that I would bring back and put on this team if I could is guard Randall McDaniel.

You want an answer to the guard issue? I don't think there would be a better answer than this one.

We've been over McDaniel's credentials before. He played for the Vikings for twelve seasons, made the Pro Bowl in eleven of them (all except his rookie year), and was a first-team All-Pro at guard for nine consecutive seasons (every year from 1990 to 1998). He's a member of the NFL's All-Decade team for the 1990s, part of the Vikings' Ring of Honor, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

Obviously, McDaniel would immediately plug into the left guard spot on the Vikings' offensive line, which means the team could put Brandon Fusco back at the right guard spot that he's played through his NFL career thus far. And, with McDaniel at left guard, it would certainly eliminate the argument that Matt Kalil needs a better player next to him in order to reach his full potential. If that wouldn't immediately translate to Kalil playing better, then the team would know that it's time to cut ties with the former #4 overall pick and try a new solution. But adding a player the caliber of Randall McDaniel would strengthen any offensive line immediately, and this team is no exception.

There are players at just about every position that you could answer this question with and not be incorrect. However, my personal pick would be McDaniel, because he would immediately turn one of the team's current biggest weaknesses into, potentially, a strength.

Which former Viking (in their prime) would you bring back if you could do so?