This season was also notable for the number of sacks the defense recorded: 71 overall, with 39 coming from only two players (Chris Doleman and Keith Millard). Millard was named the Defensive Player of the Year after putting up record numbers by a defensive tackle.
^[b] The Vikings forfeited their fifth-round selection (136th overall) after selecting defensive back Ryan Bethea in the fifth round of the 1988 NFL supplemental draft.
^[c] The Vikings traded their ninth-round selection (247th overall) to the New England Patriots in exchange for New England's 1988 11th-round selection (296th overall).
^[d] The Vikings traded their 10th-round selection (275th overall) to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for OL Greg Koch.
^[e] The Vikings traded their 1990 11th-round selection to the Los Angeles Raiders in exchange for the 12th-round selection the Raiders received from the San Francisco 49ers.
The defensive line of Chris Doleman, Keith Millard, Al Noga and Henry Thomas were key contributors in helping the Vikings rank number one in the NFL in total defense. In addition, the Vikings set a franchise record with 71 sacks in one season. Chris Doleman had 21 sacks and was one shy of tying the NFL record.
In 1989, at the height of his NFL career, the Cowboys traded Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for a total of five players (LB Jesse Solomon, DB Issiac Holt, RB Darrin Nelson, LB David Howard, DE Alex Stewart) and six draft picks (which led to Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith, and Darren Woodson). This was judged to be one of the turning points in the rise of the Cowboys to the top echelon of the NFL. Walker's trade was widely perceived as an exceptionally poor move considering what the Vikings had to give up in order to get him, and remains one of the most frequently vilified roster moves of the team's history. The Vikings coaches reluctantly accepted Walker after the trade and never totally used the tool they had been given. Scout.com says, "Walker was never used properly by the coaching brain trust (a total oxymoron in this case)".[3]