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Vikings Legend · Wide Receiver · No. 84
A once-in-a-generation playmaker who redefined what a wide receiver could be, and remains the most explosive deep threat in Minnesota Vikings history.
Drafted 21st overall in 1998 after character concerns dropped him past 20 other teams, Moss caught an NFL rookie-record 17 touchdowns in his first season and spent parts of two stints in purple, 1998 to 2004 and a brief return in 2010, before a Hall of Fame career that ended with him second all-time in career receiving touchdowns.
Explore the Minnesota chapter of Randy Moss's career.
Two stints, thirteen years apart, and one of the most productive rookie-to-veteran runs any receiver has put together in a single uniform.
Twenty teams passed on Randy Moss in the 1998 NFL Draft over character concerns stemming from a high school assault case and a positive drug test that ended his time at Florida State. Minnesota, picking 21st, took the risk. It paid off immediately: in his NFL debut on September 6, 1998, against Tampa Bay, Moss caught four passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns, including a 48-yard score from quarterback Brad Johnson, in a 31-7 win.
He kept building from there. On Thanksgiving Day that same year, Moss caught only three passes against Dallas, and every single one went for a touchdown, covering 51, 56 and 56 yards in a 46-36 shootout win. He finished his rookie season with 69 receptions, 1,313 yards and 17 touchdowns, still the NFL rookie record, and was a unanimous choice for the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year as Minnesota went 15-1, the best regular-season record in franchise history, before losing the NFC Championship Game in overtime to Atlanta.
Moss remained one of the league's most dangerous receivers through the rest of his first stint, pairing with Cris Carter and Jake Reed in a receiving corps opponents could not cover. His best statistical season with Minnesota came in 2003, when he caught a career-high 111 passes for 1,632 yards and 17 touchdowns. He was traded to the Oakland Raiders in 2005 after seven seasons in purple.
Second stint · 2010Moss returned to Minnesota on October 6, 2010, acquired from the New England Patriots for a 2011 third-round draft pick, in a move widely seen as an attempt to give an ageing Brett Favre another deep threat. The reunion did not work as hoped. In four games back in purple he caught 13 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns before the Vikings waived him on November 1, 2010, ending his second Minnesota chapter after just 25 days.
Minnesota-only production across both stints, alongside his full NFL career totals.
Career receiving-touchdown total of 156 ranks second in NFL history behind Jerry Rice's 197. Minnesota totals combine the 1998–2004 stint (109 games, 574 receptions, 9,142 yards, 90 touchdowns) and the 2010 stint (4 games, 13 receptions, 174 yards, 2 touchdowns).
College
Moss spent 1995 redshirting at Florida State before transferring to Marshall University, where he played the 1996 and 1997 seasons and was named a two-time consensus All-American.
1998
Selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round, 21st overall, of the 1998 NFL Draft.
1998–2004, 2010
Seven seasons in his first stint, followed by a brief four-game return in 2010 after a trade from New England.
2005–2012
Oakland Raiders (2005–2006), New England Patriots (2007–2010), Tennessee Titans (2010, after leaving Minnesota) and San Francisco 49ers (2012), his final NFL season.
2018
Inducted as part of the Hall's Class of 2018 alongside Ray Lewis, Terrell Owens and Brian Urlacher.
Three specific, well-documented moments from his Minnesota career.
In his first career game, Moss caught four passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including a 48-yard touchdown from quarterback Brad Johnson, as Minnesota won 31-7 at the Metrodome.
September 6, 1998 · vs Tampa Bay BuccaneersMoss caught only three passes all game against the Cowboys, and each one was a touchdown: 51, 56 and 56 yards, as the Vikings won a Thanksgiving Day shootout 46-36. It remains one of the most efficient statlines in NFL history.
November 26, 1998 · at Dallas CowboysMoss closed his rookie season with 17 receiving touchdowns, an NFL rookie record that has never been broken, helping push Minnesota to a franchise-best 15-1 record and earning him a unanimous Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
1998 seasonMoss changed how defenses had to be built. His combination of size, speed and a rare ability to win jump balls forced opponents to devote safety help over the top on nearly every snap, opening space underneath for the rest of Minnesota's offense. His rookie season alone reshaped how teams thought about drafting and defending the position.
His legacy carries real complications alongside the highlight reel. He was traded away twice by Minnesota, and his relationship with the fan base and front office was not always smooth. The Vikings have never officially retired his No. 84, and the number has been worn by other players since he left, a point still debated among fans who consider him the best receiver in franchise history.
None of that kept the Pro Football Hall of Fame from calling on the first ballot. Moss was inducted in Canton on August 4, 2018, closing the loop on a career that began with 20 teams passing him by and ended with him second all-time in receiving touchdowns, behind only Jerry Rice.
From a 21st-overall gamble to a first-ballot Hall of Famer, Randy Moss's Minnesota chapter remains one of the defining stories in franchise history.
More Vikings history