If You Want the Vikings to Draft a QB, Denver Is the Team to Watch
Dustin Baker
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Kirk Cousins is the Minnesota Vikings QB1 — in title, via contractual commitment, and in reputation.
Aside from general manager Rick Spielman doing diligence in visiting Pro Days of rookie signal-callers like Justin Fields and Trey Lance, there is no reason to believe that the Vikings will actually draft a passer to replace Cousins in five days. The only logical method to usher in this theory is if the team is quietly lukewarm on Cousins’ long-term prognosis. If Spielman — in his heart of hearts — believes Cousins is a ho-hum quarterback, then grabbing a Trey Lance or Mac Jones with the 14th overall pick is sensible.
A sect of Vikings fans, on the other hand, is not content with Cousins’ leadership, instead showing an outspoken preference for a “young, mobile quarterback on a rookie deal.” Because that’s how the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowls in 2013 and 2019 — that must be the foolproof way to do the deed, or so the theory goes. Never mind the decrepit Peyton Manning Super Bowl from 2015 or Nick Foles championship in 2017.
For that reason, the idea of Minnesota grabbing Trey Lance or Mac Jones in next week’s draft is enticing for some.
The best way for this plan to materialize is to monitor the Denver Broncos and their 9th selection on Thursday night. If Lance or Jones have not been chosen by the time Denver announces their pick, one of those quarterbacks should be available (barring trades).
The gap between the Broncos and Vikings picks consists of these teams: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and Los Angeles Chargers. None of those teams need a quarterback.
Denver and the 9th pick is the hinge for this new-QB-to-Minnesota utopia.
Mystery surrounds the Broncos strategy in the 1st Round. They could trade up, trade back, or organically select Micah Parsons, Patrick Surtain, or even the aforementioned Lance or Jones. Drew Lock is the current QB1 in the mountains, but he endured a noticeable regression during his sophomore campaign of 2021.
Remember, too, that Denver is led by George Paton, the former Vikings lieutenant to Rick Spielman. He might even wheel-and-deal with the Vikings in some fashion. That merely adds sizzle to the enigma of the event.
If the Never-Cousins crowd gets its wish and the Vikings shockingly draft a quarterback, that man will sit and learn behind Cousins for at least one season. Cousins is slated to carry a $31 million dollar cap hit in 2021, classifying him as the NFL’s third-highest paid quarterback in all of the land. His performance would have to devolve into unfathomable stinkiness for the Vikings to throw in the towel this season.
Lance, for “certain,” would satisfy the oft-mentioned “best player available” philosophy should he tumble to the Vikings. Spielman would require creativity to fill roster holes on both offensive and defensive lines if the team does not select an OL or DT in the 1st Round. However, Lance would inspire hope if the Vikings encounter another mediocre season, as was the case in 2020.
Courtney Cronin studiously covers the Vikings for ESPN, and she outwardly opined that Minnesota should focus on a Cousins replacement in an April 8th article.
Cronin wrote:
“This April is about building for the future and starting to make plans for whether Cousins is a Viking in 2022. Cousins’ base salary being guaranteed in 2022, but that does not mean he is immune to a split from the Vikings. Assuming the top quarterbacks in the draft (Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Mac Jones, Trey Lance and Justin Fields) are gone by the time the Vikings pick at No. 14, they likely will have to wait until Day 2 to find their quarterback. The Vikings don’t have a second-round pick, but they do have two third-round selections. According to ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr., there are several Day 2 options: Stanford’s Davis Mills, Georgia’s Jamie Newman and Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond.”
The fulcrum rests with Spielmans’s pal, Paton, in Colorado. Should Lance slip by the #9 spot on Thursday night, he should plunge all the way to the Vikings.