Tag: cris carter

A big 2021 would shoot Adam Thielen up the Vikings’ record books

Thielen could leap up the leaderboard with a good season.

If Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen has a solid, and healthy, 2021 season, he’ll likely see himself surge up the team’s record books.

Thielen currently has 397 career receptions, a mark that ranks eighth in the team’s record books. If Thielen has 81 receptions, he’ll jump all the way to fourth, behind only Steve Jordan, Randy Moss and Cris Carter.

Thielen’s 5,240 career receiving yards rank eighth in team history. If Thielen could muster a 1,250-yard season, he’d move into fourth place in team history behind only Anthony Carter, Moss and Carter.

As for touchdowns, Thielen’s mark of 39 rank sixth in team history. If Thielen had a 12-touchdown season, he’d jump to fourth, again behind, Carter, Moss and Carter.

 

Cris Carter sees a lot of Drew Brees in Dolphins rookie Tua Tagovailoa

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagoviloa received a lofty comparison from Hall of Fame wideout Cris Carter: New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees

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Cris Carter has seen a lot of football. Inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame back in 2013, the all-time great wide receiver knows what to look for at quarterback. And in evaluating Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, recently named the team’s starter, he’s come up with his personal player comparison: New Orleans Saints living legend Drew Brees.

“There are certain people that are born for certain things,” Carter said on The Rich Eisen Show. “And this kid is meant to be — Drew Brees was meant to lead an NFL team, right? You know Drew. This dude, ‘is a dude’s dude.’ And Tua is the same way. He’s funny, he’s charismatic. Guys on the team love him. He’s got special, special arm talent.”

Brees is going to join Carter in the Hall of Fame someday, so it says a lot of Tagovailoa’s prospects that he’s drawing this sort of talk before starting his first NFL game. But both quarterbacks are known for their poise in the pocket and deadly accuracy, as well as their leadership qualities.

They also aren’t working with the greatest physical gifts (Tagovailoa weighed in at just 6-foot-0, 217 pounds at this year’s NFL Combine) and have recovered from career-threatening injuries, like Brees’ infamous rotator cuff tear with the Chargers and Tagovailoa’s dislocated hip at Alabama. They’re each resilient.

Brees was a sophomore at Purdue the year Tagovailoa was born. The biggest difference between the two of them, besides age, might be that Tagovailoa throws left-handed. On paper, anyway. We’ll know for sure once Tagovailoa has put together his own body of work in this league. But with veteran backup Ryan Fitzpatrick playing so well to start the year, it says a lot about what Tagovailoa has shown in practice to give the Dolphins coaches confidence that he’s ready to take the wheel.

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Cris Carter ranks as best supplemental NFL draft pick of all time

Throughout his 16-year career, Carter finished with 1,101 receptions, 13,899 yards and 130 touchdowns.

It’s ranking season over at CBS Sports.

On Tuesday, Chris Trapasso ranked the top-10 best supplemental NFL draft picks of all time.

The No. 1 pick was former Vikings wide receiver Cris Carter and it wasn’t particularly close. Carter was picked by the Eagles out of Ohio State in the supplemental draft. And while Carter had just 89 catches for 1,450 yards in his three seasons with the Eagles, he put together a Hall-of-Fame career with the Vikings.

Here’s what Trapasso wrote about Carter:

As the only former supplemental draft pick in the Hall of Fame, this was an easy selection for the top spot. Carter had three productive but tumultuous seasons with the team that drafted him in the fourth round in 1987, and after his release from the Eagles, the Vikings claimed him in 1990. The rest is history.

Throughout his 16-year career, Carter finished with 1,101 receptions, 13,899 yards and 130 touchdowns. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.

We don’t yet know the date of this year’s supplemental draft, although last year’s draft was on July 10, so we can assume it’s probably coming soon.

You can check out Trapasso’s full list here.

Kyle Rudolph is close to entering Vikings’ royalty

Rudolph is close to a pretty impressive spot in team history.

The Vikings have had some pretty great pass catchers throughout their history.

Randy Moss. Cris Carter. Anthony Carter. Stefon Diggs. Adam Thielen. To name a few.

Tight end Kyle Rudolph probably doesn’t enter many of those conversations and understandably so considering he’s only had 4,154 receiving yards over nine seasons.

With that being said, Rudolph has been a touchdown machine during his time with the Vikings, catching 47 touchdowns in his career, including six last season.

Rudolph needs just four receiving touchdowns to pass Sammy White for fourth all-time on the team’s list and six to pass Anthony Carter for third in team history.

After that, well, Rudolph would still be 40 touchdowns behind Moss for second in team history.

Over the last five seasons, Rudolph, 30, has averaged six receiving touchdowns per game.

Cris Carter names top-5 ‘best hands’ WRs of all-time

The former Vikings wide receiver lists five players who he thinks have the best hands of all-time.

Former Vikings receiver Cris Carter is helping NFL.com with some content as most of us work from home.

Carter listed his top-five receivers as far as best hands are concerned.

In no order, Carter listed Steve Largent, Randy Moss, Jerry Rice, Larry Fitzgerald and DeAndre Hopkins on his list. Both Moss and Fiztgerald (who was born in Minnesota) have ties to the Vikings. Moss, of course, became one of the best receivers to ever live after being drafted by the Vikings. Fitzgerald, meanwhile, was a ballboy for the team.

Carter probably deserves consideration on this list as well.

You can watch Carter talk about each player here.

Former Ohio State star Cris Carter leading charge to feed those affected by coronavirus

Former Ohio State wide receiver and NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter is helping lead the charge on feeding those in need because of COVID-19.

Former Ohio State receiver and NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter had a stellar career on the football field. But that doesn’t mean he forgets where he came from.

In fact, growing up in Dayton, Ohio, Carter was one of six children in a single-parent household. That often meant with scant resources, that the family often had to battle going hungry. And while his abilities on the football field got him out of a poverty situation, others aren’t so fortunate.

Because of that, Carter is giving back and spearheading an effort by other NFL Hall of Famer’s with Project Isaiah, a charitable organization established during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide free, boxed meals to those in need.

“This pandemic is a wicked event,” Carter told USA TODAY Sports last week. “We just can’t go through it and act as if we don’t care. Everyone can have some type of impact.”

In a creative and inspiring move, investment banker Michael Klein launched the project in April and got the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Gate Gourmet, one of the largest airline food providers involved. The meals are packaged at airport kitchens and distributed by over 200 community service organizations.

David Baker, the executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame immediately agreed to get involved to be a partner, and that’s where Carter got involved and helped move the cause along.

“It touches me personally because I don’t know what my family would have done 30, 40 years ago if there had been a pandemic,” said Carter.

“If I was a young kid sitting around all day and my mom couldn’t go to work and we couldn’t go to school, it would have been tough. I was going to school for at least two of my meals.”

It’s a great cause, and it’s another example of someone tied to Buckeye Nation giving back during this unprecedented time. If you’d like to donate, you can do so at Isaiah.org.

Cris Carter talks Chargers WR K.J. Hill’s success in college, forecasts NFL career

Hall of Famer Cris Carter talks about how K.J. Hill’s consistency at Ohio State will translate to the next level, along with more.

Chargers rookie wide receiver K.J. Hill is known for one major accomplishment at Ohio State.

Hill left as the Buckeye’s reception leader with 201 catches, surpassing the the likes of Michael Jenkins, Boston Scott and Hall of Famer Cris Carter.

Hill wouldn’t have made the record books if it wasn’t for the advice of Carter. Carter persuaded Hill to stay in college for his senior season rather than making the leap to the NFL.

“I think sometimes when you’re in pursuit of an NFL career, you lose sight of what you went to college for. I also believe that there are skills that he could show in his senior year that would give him potential to have a longer career,” Carter said.

Hill could’ve joined his former teammates Parris Campbell (Colts) and Terry McLaurin (Redskins) in being drafted last year, but the advice of Carter’s paid off in 2019 for Hill.

“It’s always a lot of pressure to put up good numbers because guys want to be drafted high and earn senior awards. And when you’re on a team that’s in the top-5 for the most part, you have to sacrifice. He never got selfish and chase stats compared to being a leader, being consistent, continuing to develop as a football player, and he ended up having a heck of a season.”

Carter highlighted his strengths that helped him become the all-time receiving leader for the Buckeyes which include great hands, route-running ability, and understanding leverage. He also mentioned that the majority of the guys that he surpassed to get the record went on to have great careers at the next level, and he expects the same for Hill.

Going into the draft, Hill was projected as a mid-round pick by many draft analysts but instead, he saw himself slip to Day 3 in a surprising manner. The Chargers weren’t anticipating selecting a wide receiver in the seventh-round having already taken a wideout two rounds before that (Joe Reed). But a player like Hill was too hard to pass up on.

Considered being overlooked on draft day, Hill now has the opportunity to make the other 31 teams that passed on him regret their decisions because not only is Los Angeles getting a good player, but a good person, as well.

“He’s really developed since he’s come to Ohio State, on and off the field. He’s been very, very consistent. He played on the outside and inside. He’s also played on special teams, and I believe he can win a job in the NFL because of his overall versatility,” Carter said.

“And having guys around him that were recruited over him, because that’s what he’s got there with the Chargers. If he’s going to be a slot receiver, he will have Keenan Allen there, which allows him to learn from one of the absolute bests.”

Being able to learn from Ohio State’s wide receiver coach Brian Hartline to Allen now should pay huge dividends. With the traits, skillset and mentorship he’s receiving, Hill will look to leave his mark with the Chargers, just like how he did with the Buckeyes.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson said he received tips from Cris Carter at NFL Combine

Vikings Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter gave newly drafted LSU wideout Justin Jefferson tips all the way back at the NFL Combine, Jefferson said.

Justin Jefferson wasn’t a Vikings wide receiver until Thursday, but at the NFL Combine, he still received some tutelage from a former Vikings wideout.

Cris Carter, a former Vikings wideout who was inducted into the Hall of Fame, kept tabs on Jefferson throughout the draft process, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.

“He was giving me tips (at the combine) on how to be a better receiver, how to be a long-term better receiver,” Jefferson told the Pioneer Press and other outlets.“Having him in my ear, just giving me his knowledge and the information that he has definitely means a lot. He’s a hall of fame receiver. … He said I was the best receiver in the draft, so we definitely have a connection.”

Jefferson said he heard about Carter calling him the best receiver in the draft on television, and that it made him feel good about himself, giving him more confidence.

“He was one of my mentors, with one of our groups, so (it helped) having him around every step of the way during the combine,” Jefferson told the Pioneer Press and other reporters.

Buckeye Battle Cry series: Best Ohio State football player to wear jersey No. 2

We’re going through a series to identify the best football player to ever wear a specific jersey number at Ohio State. Next up is No. 2.

We’ve been going through a series of debating what Ohio State football player is the best to wear specific jersey numbers. We started with jersey No. 1, and now we’re going straight to No. 2.

We know you’re bored of looking at every square inch of your home. My latest vacation consisted of climbing the stairs to the second story of my house and taking a tour of the guest bedroom. One of these days, I’ll save up enough to cross the attic off the bucket list.

We’re all getting a little stir crazy from being cooped up due to the measures put in place to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus and there are only so many classic games I can dial-up and watch.

In the long, illustrious history of Ohio State football, there is sure to be some disagreement, but that only makes it more fun. We might just sling some mud at each other, but it’s all being done virtually like everything else.

We will continue to go as high as makes sense, or until we win an all-expenses-paid trip to the grocery store to get toilet paper.

We’ll keep the same order and let Mark kick things off with his vote for the best Ohio State football player to ever wear No. 2.

Next … kick if off Mark

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Cris Carter has 2 favorites for Vikings in the draft

Carter notes that there are receivers with different skills in this draft and that the Vikings should be focused on a receiver with speed.

After trading Stefon Diggs to the Bills, the Vikings are in desperate need as they head into next week’s draft.

Luckily, the 2020 NFL Draft looks to be stacked with receivers.

“I believe that there are at least 25 receivers that can be drafted in the first four rounds, so we’re gonna see some superstars come off the board in Day 2,” Former Vikings receiver Cris Carter said via Vikings.com.

Carter notes that there are receivers with different skills in this draft and that the Vikings should be focused on a receiver with speed.

“The Vikings, we need speed,” Carter said. “We don’t have a deep threat at wide receiver and we know we like to run the ball . . . We need someone who can take off the defense.”

Two specific players Carter mentions are LSU’s Justin Jefferson and Clemson’s Tee Higgins.

If Jefferson falls to 22 or 25, that would be a dream scenario for the Vikings. He ran a surprising 4.43 at the combine and could be a player who starts immediately. As for Higgins, he’s a player that could go late in the first round, or could potentially fall into the second round depending on when the wide receiver surge is.

The good news is for the Vikings is that there are plenty of options at receiver, it will just be about picking the right fit for what the Vikings want to do.