Nobody forgets a superstar. It can be challenging, though, to recall every great contributor of a club.

Purple Insider's countdown of 20 underappreciated and overlooked but undeniably awesome players for Minnesota over the past 50 seasons – dating to its last Super Bowl appearance – concluded on Thursday.

The list, formed by Matthew Coller and Josh Smith, began with field-stretching wide receiver Hassan Jones, who averaged 21.7 yards per reception over his first two seasons (1986-87) and set personal bests with 51 catches, 810 yards and seven touchdowns in 1990. Their first installment also featured defensive end Brian Robison and linebacker E.J. Henderson, and Parts 2 and 3 included, among others, running back Amp Lee, an effective receiving outlet, and Pro Bowl quarterback Wade Wilson, who let it fly often.

And their Top 5 … drumroll, please … presented the following studs: cornerback Carl Lee, defensive linemen Doug Martin and Linval Joseph, offensive lineman Chris Liwienski and wide receiver Jake Reed.

You can read deeper dives into each player here, and we'll give a snapshot of their achievements below.

A seventh-round pick by the Vikings in 1983 out of Marshall, Lee played 11 seasons in Minnesota and earned three consecutive Pro Bowl nods in 1988-90. In the first of those three, he also collected All-Pro recognition and earned a vote for the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year Award won by Mike Singletary. Lee had eight interceptions that season, returned a couple for touchdowns and generated an Approximate Value of 21, which was nearly double his second-greatest effort in terms of AV in 1989 (11).

Martin, who passed away in April, was a career Viking after being drafted 9^th overall in 1980. He started 94 of 126 games played and totaled 61.5 sacks, including a league-high 11.5 in the 1982 season that was shortened to nine games and a personal-best 13 the very next year. Martin finished with four seasons of at least nine and was an underrated piece of the '88 unit that fared No. 1 in total defense and takeaways.

Joesph wasn't a Vikings draft pick and spent nine seasons with other teams, compared to six with Minnesota (2014-19), but he dominated his duties in Purple – playing a role that demands selflessness: nose tackle. Joseph managed 15 sacks, 350 tackles and 51 hits on QBs across 88 starts. He was elected to back-to-back Pro Bowls (2016-17) and returned a fumble 64 yards for a touchdown at the Eagles in 2018.

Moving to the other side of the trenches, Liwienski actually heard his name called by the Lions in the 1998 draft but was cut before making his NFL debut and signed with Minnesota as a rookie in November. Liwienski spent parts of his first two seasons on the practice squad and played sparingly in 2000 before he was tasked with tackle duties out of tragedy in 2001 after Korey Stringer's death in training camp. He stayed put at tackle in 2002 before sliding inside to guard and serving mostly as a starter through 2005. Coller noted that although Liwienski never made a Pro Bowl, he was key to a few great Vikings offenses.

Lastly, we've arrived at Reed, one-third of the "Three Deep" attack that kept defenses on their heels. A third-round pick by way of Grambling State in 1991, Reed was with the Vikings for 10 of 12 seasons and racked up 413 catches for 6,433 yards and 33 touchdowns. Despite never getting the national love his play warranted, Reed's 1994-97 stretch was special; he amassed four consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns and averaged 16.2 yards per catch. His 4,800 yards in that span ranked fifth overall after Herman Moore (5,448), Tim Brown (5,163), Michael Irvin (4,986) and teammate Cris Carter (4,859) – and ahead of Irving Fryar (4,691), Jerry Rice (4,679), Rob Moore (4,517), Carl Pickens (4,236) and Isaac Bruce (4,206).

Thanks to Coller and Smith, 20 underrated Vikings received some well-deserved attention this week.

Players to watch

Underrated now, but not for long? That's basically the exercise ESPN's Ben Solak repped Wednesday when he singled out one breakout candidate for all 32 teams. One stipulation: no rookies were allowed.

OK, let's cut to the chase.

For Minnesota, Solak touted free-agent signing James Pierre, a veteran cornerback new to the defense after six go-rounds in Pittsburgh. Pierre turns 30 on Sept. 16 and is coming off a semi-breakout season.

Solak wrote the following:

The Vikings like to rotate cornerbacks on cheap contracts, as [Defensive Coordinator] Brian Flores' zone-heavy and blitz-happy approach requires fewer snaps of prolonged man coverage than most other defenses. This offseason, they snagged Pierre in free agency after he made some strong spot starts with the Steelers. Pierre had only 219 coverage snaps last season, but his passer rating allowed of 49.8 was second only to Jamel Dean among cornerbacks last season. (Dean, ironically, is who the Steelers signed in free agency).

It's worth noting that Fabian Moreau was third in passer rating allowed at 50.5 in Flores' defense. But the Vikings still elected to cycle Moreau out for Pierre, who was coached by Flores and Defensive Passing Game Coordinator Gerald Alexander during their time in Pittsburgh. That's a clear sign they trust him more — and might ask for more man coverage accordingly.

For what it's worth, Pierre also has familiarity with Vikings safety Joshua Metellus. They've maintained a friendship since playing 7-on-7 together when they were rising the ranks as college prospects in Florida.

Other players to watch highlighted by Solak include high draft picks like Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty and Eagles edge rusher Nolan Smith, Jr., and Day 3 choices Titans TE Gunnar Helm and Saints CB Quincy Riley.

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