The first DOUBLE FEATURE of the player profile series! It felt fitting given the number is “22”, and these are both Vikings legends. This is going to be a long one!

PAUL KRAUSE

Paul James Krause (born February 19, 1942) is an American former football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings and the Washington Redskins. Gifted with a great frame, speed and range, Krause established himself as a defensive force against opposing wide receivers. He led the league with 12 interceptions as a rookie before going on to set the NFL career interceptions record with 81 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998. Krause was selected eight times to the Pro Bowl during his 16 seasons in the NFL.

Krause attended and played college football at the University of Iowa. He was a two-way starter as a wide receiver, running back, and defensive back. As a senior in 1963, he tied the Iowa record with six touchdown pass receptions and was selected for the Senior Bowl, the East-West Shrine game, the Coaches' All-American game and the College All-Star game. He finished his college career with 42 receptions for 718 yards, 49 carries for 263 yards, and 8 touchdowns.
Krause also played baseball at Iowa. As a sophomore, he earned All-American honors and was drafted into the major leagues, but he turned down the offer. Krause's chances to play professional baseball were ended when he injured his shoulder in his junior year playing football against the University of Michigan.

Krause is actually the first player of this series to not be drafted by the Vikings – he was drafted by the Redskins in the second round of the 1964 draft. He was traded to the Vikings in 1968, and played with us until he retired in 1979.

During that time, he was one of 11 players to play in all four of the Vikings Super Bowl appearances (Super Bowl IV, VIII, IX, and XI). Krause recorded an interception in Super Bowl IV and a fumble recovery in Super Bowl IX.
Krause was often referred to as the Vikings "center fielder" because of his success as an interscholastic baseball player and his ability to catch interceptions.

He currently holds the all-time interception record in the NFL with 81, which he returned for 1,185 yards and three touchdowns. He set the record in 1979 against the Los Angeles Rams, in the second quarter of a 27-21 overtime loss with his 81st interception coming in the final quarter. The previous record of 79 was held by Emlen Tunnell, another former Hawkeye who played for the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers from 1948 to 1961.

Krause recovered 19 fumbles, returning them for 163 yards and three touchdowns. Krause only missed two games due to injuries in 16 seasons.

In 1994, Krause was elected to the Board of County Commissioners for Dakota County, Minnesota. He served for twenty years and he did not seek re-election in 2014.[10]
Currently, Krause is involved in real estate development and insurance, and he owns several restaurants,[4] including the Dairy Delite in Lakeville, Minnesota.[11] He previously owned a golf course in Elk River, Minnesota.

HARRISON SMITH

What better player to carry on the legacy of Paul Krause than Harrison “Hitman” Smith.

College career:

After red-shirting as a freshman in 2007, he emerged as a star in 2008.[15] He began his career at linebacker. In his first year, he started 9 games and recorded 57 tackles, which included 8.5 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks. As a junior in 2009, he started six games at strong safety, then strongside linebacker for the final six games. He recorded 69 tackles including 6.5 tackles for loss. In 2010, as a senior, he played strong safety where he recorded 93 tackles including a team-high seven interceptions. In 2011, he was accepted to a graduate program at Notre Dame allowing him to play another season.[16] In his final year in 2011, serving as team captain, he played in and started in all 13 games. He recorded 90 tackles including three tackles for loss.[17]

Pro Career:

On April 26, 2012, the Minnesota Vikings selected Smith in the first round (29th overall) of the 2012 NFL draft after trading up with the Baltimore Ravens.

Entering training camp, Smith competed against Jamarca Sanford and Andrew Sendejo for the starting free safety spot. Smith was named the starting free safety to begin the regular season.[24] He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Vikings' season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He finished the 26–23 victory with seven combined tackles.[25] During the Week 5 matchup against the Tennessee Titans, Smith was ejected for moving an official out of the way, but the Vikings still got the 30–7 win.[26] In Week 7 against the Arizona Cardinals, Smith recorded six combined tackles, a pass deflection, and his first career interception off a pass thrown by John Skelton, which he returned for a 31-yard touchdown to seal the Vikings' 21–14 victory.[27] In Week 8 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he made a season-high 13 combined tackles as the Vikings lost 36–17. In Week 13 against the Green Bay Packers, Smith recorded 11 combined tackles and intercepted a pass thrown by Aaron Rodgers as the Vikings lost 23–14. In Week 14 against the Chicago Bears, he recorded seven total tackles and intercepted a pass thrown by Jay Cutler that he returned for a 52-yard touchdown in a 21–14 victory, marking his second touchdown of the season. In Week 15 against the St. Louis Rams, Smith had a season-high nine solo tackles and an assisted tackle during a 36–22 win. In a Week 16 matchup against the Houston Texans, he decided seven solo tackles and made his first career sack on Matt Schaub, as the Vikings won 23–6.[28]
He finished his rookie season with 104 combined tackles, one sack, three interceptions, and two touchdowns.[29]

In 2017, Smith was graded the third-best player in the NFL by Pro Football Focus (PFF).[3] His season grade of 98.8 was also the highest among safeties in PFF history.[4] He was named to his third straight Pro Bowl on January 22, 2018, and was named first-team All-Pro.[5][6] He followed with a 4th consecutive Pro Bowl in 2019 and second-team All-Pro.

In 2022 and 2023 season, Smith took a payout both years to remain a Viking. He will hopefully retire a Viking, and he has his spot saved in the ring of honor, and hopefully the hall of fame.

What a legendary number!