According to ESPN.com, the Vikings reportedly took their QB search to the west coast last week. On Thursday, offensive coordinator Norv Turner and general manager Rick Spielman visited Fresno State for Derek Carr‘s Pro Day. The following day, the two met with San Jose State QB David Fales.
Despite suffering from the flu on Thursday, Carr delivered an above-average performance on Thursday, throwing 43 consecutive completions. He was intentional about the types of passes he made, offering a range of professional-level scenarios. “He wanted to prove he looked very comfortable under center and in the pocket today,” NFL Network’s Paul Burmeister said. “That’s exactly what his workout was setup to do.”
Thus far, Carr has not been expected to go in the first round—after all, this year’s draft class is being called the deepest in several years. However, Carr has apparently received feedback from a variety of sources that lead him to believe he will break into Round One.
Carr worked through his illness to prove that he will have a strong presence in the Draft. In an interview with Burmeister, Carr said the following:
“From what I’ve heard from the Senior Bowl, the combine, meeting with teams in-between then, talking to teams, I think we’re going to surprise some people come May 8.”
Don’t expect the Vikings to use their No. 8 pick on Carr. At this point, several draft experts are placing Carr as a favorite to land in Oakland. However, if Carr falls to No. 40 and the Vikes are still without a QB, he could be an option at the helm.
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On Friday, Turner and Spielman met with Fales at San Jose State.
According to the Sacramento Bee, the Vikings arranged a private workout with Fales. Two days prior, Fales hit 52 of his 53 passes at Pro Day. It is unclear whether or not Spielman had arranged the meeting before or after the QB’s solid Pro Day performance, but he certainly is an interesting prospect for Minny.
ESPN NFL analyst Trent Dilfer, who was at Fales’ pro day on Wednesday, called him a “Trent Green clone.”
ESPN reports that Fales is projected to go as a mid-round pick, but his level of accuracy may raise him a bit in the draft. If Fales stays in the pool until the middle rounds and the Vikings have not yet taken a QB, he could be a strong option as a young QB who can develop under Matt Cassel for a season or two.
Considering Spielman has stated that Minnesota will likely get face time with at least 10 QB’s prior to May 8, a lot of mystery remains around which option will be the best fit and how early the Vikes will go for the QB position.
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I like Carr a lot. I hope the Vikes can snag him. I would taker him over Manziel in a heartbeat. Dude, can spin the rock.
Interesting! I do think Carr is looking really good. He seems like he would be a stable option. Manziel just makes me a bit nervous with all the hype ...
Manziel just makes me nervous period. Running QB's do not last long in the league. I love Carr's short quick release. One factor I think has to be taken into consideration, is that the Vikes play 2 years outdoors at home, and still have to play at Chicago and Green Bay. Carr's strong arm allows for the ball to cut through the wind. Manziel's, Bortle's and Bridgewater's all have decent arms but not strong like Carr's.
Agreed... i like Carr a lot as well (but not at #8). Would love to see a trade back to accumulate picks and then, if needed, move back into late 1st for Carr. Seems like his style of play is exactly what Norv looks for: strong arm who can lead a vertical offense. And check out his combine numbers, pretty much equal to, if not better, than Manziel, but Carr never gets mentioned in the "athletic" conversation. Think the kid is better than people think and would love to see him in Purple. SKOL
Carr possibly could be gone by 8. He is rising pretty fast now. However, I do agree with you. It would be nice to trade back once to around 12-15 and get some other picks and then select him. If that would happen, then I would be ecstatic. Of course I would be even more happier if Kahlil Mack would fall to us at 8 also but I do not think that will happen.
Manziel's pro day is this Thursday. It will be interesting to see what he does and if he has a good day if he will get a bump upward like Bortle's and Carr have.
Some of the research I've done says that none of the qbs are worthy of a 1st round grade but I guess opinions are like aholes.
You are right Johnny. There is no consensus this year where the QBs should go. I have read the same thing. Some say none in the 1st round, some say 1 in the top 10, some say 2-3 in the top 10. That is why I think this years draft is really going to be exciting and fun to watch. Just hope we draft well this year.
Yikes Norse, not that I give a rats ass what Mcshay has to say but he's put a 4th round grade on Carr. You're so right this draft is going to be exciting and fun to watch.
Isn't it about time for Adam and Brett to come out with their updated mocks? I would also like to see what Arif, Carl and Lindsey have on their draft boards.
I'm on it, Johnny! I'm looking at doing a 2 person mock. I take the even picks and someone takes the odds...
Does this guy have an anxiety issue? I have read scouting reports mentioning something to this effect and when the reports of this flu on his pro day started I was half expecting this to come up. Sucking it up and spinning the rock with a bonnafide flu bug is admirable, if he got sick because of a body reaction to the pressure of the day than that's a slight red flag for a franchise QB. That and not stepping up/around pressure in the pocket (big Ponder problem) are my question marks about him, but I have no idea if the anxiety thing is true or not (or if it's something that effects him on the football field).
any word on J Allen......I'm on the edge of my seat..... might even lose sleep tonight.....
I don't know what to think now. After reading your article Lindsey, I thought 'geez, I hope nobody else hears this about Carr, or his draft stock will rise.'
Then Dan's comments on possible anxiety attacks. . .
What to do?
I'll admit that I didn't think that highly of Carr until I started doing some research and looking at how well he did on Pro Day, even though he was ill. I am thinking he's looking better and better as an option! And he doesn't come with all the hype and drama that someone like Manziel does.
Although Fran Tarkenton is one of my all time favorite Vikings (Paul Krause is my all time favorite)
and Manziel reminds us a lot of him, it's a different era and i don't think the guy would last.
Even if he does, I'd prefer a athletic Pocket passer.
Barring any anxiety issues, Carr looks good to me, even at #8.
I have to stress that I have no idea if that is an accurate report or one that affects him on the football field. That's why I was bringing it up to see if anyone else had heard anything similar.
You'd think that would be all over the place if he suffered from anxiety attacks.
Lining up under center wouldn't be the best place for a guy with that sort of affliction.
Where did you hear about it?
I actually found it again, it's listed in Walterfootball's scouting report on Carr. Nothing specific, just lists anxiety issues as a weakness and mentions sources reporting there is something that needs to be ironed out when he gets to the NFL. It's one of those touchy topics that some media may not want to bring up. Anxiety issue is pretty generic. It could really be anything, maybe he doesn't like flying, maybe he needs to purell his hands when a stranger high 5's him because he's got a germ phobia...but if it has anything to do with not liking 300 lb dudes running at him at full speed that would be a problem.
Hey guys. Not a Vikes fan, but I am from Fresno and have seen just about every Carr game. The guy is legit and anxiety is definitely not an issue for the guy. His son Dallas was born incredibly ill right before the start of last season and a few days later, he went out and beat a ranked Rutgers team in OT. The guy is very mature and level headed and can run an offense and read defenses like no one else I've seen at Fresno State..and I go back to the Trent Dilfer days. In my humble opinion you couldn't go wrong at anywhere after 8. He does have footwork issues, but his arm and accuracy makes up for that.
Here is a New York Times article about what he went through with his son:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/29/sports/ncaafootball/at-start-of-preseason-fresno-state-quarterback-faced-a-harrowing-test.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Hope that helps and I hope you guys do well in the draft. :)
Thanks for the insight Dan, there is certainly a lot to like about the guy and I don't think anyone would deny he has high level NFL skills and a refreshing amount of maturity, especially in this draft class. Still, that report is floating around out there and I'm sure the teams will be looking into it. My biggest concern on him from the limited amount of games I've watched is stepping up when that pressure is coming. Viking fans are a little sensitive to that after watching Ponder the last few years.
Thanks for the insight. I watched an interview with him and he seems like he is calm and level headed.