Carl Eller - NFL Career

NFL Career

In 1964 Eller was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings and also drafted in the first round of the American Football League Draft by the Buffalo Bills, who could not sign him. As the left defensive end in the Vikings front four, he was a major factor in the unit known as the "Purple People Eaters".

Starting in 1968, Eller's fifth campaign, Minnesota won 10 Central Division titles in the next 11 seasons. The Vikings won the 1969 NFL championship and NFC crowns in 1973, 1974, and 1976 and Eller was one of 10 Vikings to play in all four of their Super Bowls, all losses.

He was selected to play in six Pro Bowls (1968–1971, 1973, and 1974). After being traded with an eighth round pick to Seattle Seahawks for defensive tackle Steve Niehaus, Eller played his final season in 1979 with the Seattle Seahawks, where he ran his career total to 225 games. In his career, "Moose" only missed three games and started 209 out of the 225 he played.

Eller is credited as the Vikings all-time sack leader with 130½. He also had 3 sacks with Seahawks in 1979 for a career total of 133½. He set career-high 15 sacks in 1969 and then matched that total in 1977, also to his credit 7 seasons with 10 or more sacks.

Eller was First-team All-NFL from 1968–71, and again in 1973. He was also Second-team All-Pro in 1967 and 1972 and was All-NFC by AP and The Sporting News in 1975. Matched with his Pro Bowls, Eller had a nine-year consecutive streak with some sort of post-season honor which began in 1967 with his Second-team All-pro selection and ended in 1975 with his All-NFC honors.

He was voted the George S. Halas Trophy in 1971 as the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year as awarded by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA).