Minnesota Vikings By The Numbers: #82

We are on to #82 in our Minnesota Vikings By The Numbers series, and this might be another case where the current wearer of the number is the best ever to have it. But, there are a few other names that bear mentioning.

And yes, we will have a vote this time around, even though it might be anti-climactic. Also because the next two numbers (which will round out the 80s) won’t have them.

The first prominent #82 in Vikings’ history goes back a ways. Wide receiver Jim Lash played for the team from 1973 to 1976, and put up a couple of seasons of more than 500 receiving yards for a Vikings’ team that went to three Super Bowls in four years. He only had three touchdowns, all in one season, and left the Vikings after the 1976 season.

One of the forgotten players that has worn the #82 in Vikings history is wide receiver Qadry Ismail. The younger. . .and less heralded. . .brother of college legend Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, Qadry (“The Missile”) had every bit as good an NFL career as his older brother did. Granted, he didn’t really hit his stride until after he left Minnesota, putting up a pair of 1,000-yard seasons for the Baltimore Ravens and getting a Super Bowl ring, but he did score 12 touchdowns in four seasons for the Vikings and averaged nearly 16 yards per catch.

Speaking of forgotten, with all the weapons the Vikings’ offense had in 1998, tight end Andrew Glover was often overlooked. However, he was a significant piece of that offense. He was actually third on that team in receiving yardage, behind only Randy Moss and Cris Carter, and was third in touchdown receptions as well. In the shadow of Moss, Carter, Jake Reed, Robert Smith, and Randall Cunningham, Glover didn’t get a whole lot of attention from opposing defenses, and he did a find job of taking advantage of that.

Lastly, we have the current bearer of the #82 in purple, tight end Kyle Rudolph. Rudolph has always had the size and ability to make an impact, and finally seemed to put it all together last season in Pat Shurmur’s tight end-friendly offensive scheme. Rudolph already leads all Vikings’ tight ends in career touchdown receptions (having passed Steve Jordan’s mark last season) and, if he can come close to duplicating his 2016 numbers, could climb into the Vikings’ top ten all time in receiving yardage. He’s currently 676 yards behind John Gilliam for tenth overall on that list. He’ll almost certainly be in the top ten in career receptions after this coming season as well, as he’s currently just 27 grabs behind Rickey Young.

Vikings that have worn the number 82:

• A.D. Williams (1961)
• Steve Stonebreaker (1962 - 1963)
• Red Phillips (1965 - 1967)
• Bob Goodridge (1968)
• Jim Lash (1973 - 1976)
• Robert Steele (1979)
• Bob Bruer (1980 - 1983)
• Carl Hilton (1986 - 1989)
• Ron Daugherty (1987)
• Mike Jones (1990 - 1991)
• Danta Whitaker (1992)
• Qadry Ismail (1993 - 1996)
• Andrew Glover (1997 - 1999)
• Troy Walters (2000 - 2001)
• Derrick Alexander, wide receiver version (2002)
• Keenan Howry (2003 - 2005)
• Troy Williamson (2006 - 2007)
• Darius Reynaud (2008 - 2009)
• Kyle Rudolph (2011 - present)

We’ll move on to the #81 tomorrow, where there really isn’t any suspense at all. (Spoiler: #80 won’t have any suspense, either.)