It’s Increasingly Likely Vikings Find QB2 in Draft
Unless one postulates quarterbacks Nate Stanley and Jake Browning as potential QB2s for the Minnesota Vikings 2021 depth chart, the franchise is currently absent a backup signal-caller.
Kirk Cousins has never missed a game to injury, so the odds of absolutely requiring a proven QB2 for duty are slim. But that doesn’t mean it’s wise to wholly ignore the position. For the last two seasons, the Vikings have employed Sean Mannion for the gig. To date, Mannion is unsigned by Minnesota — and everyone else.
And if history is a reasonable indicator, the Vikings should have a QB2 at this juncture. In 2018, Trevor Siemian was inked to perform the job — and he was on the roster before the 2018 NFL Draft. The same goes for Mannion in 2019 and 2020. It is a bit strange that general manager Rick Spielman lacks a QB2 on his roster.
Therefore, this is probably an indicator that Minnesota will scoop a quarterback out of the NFL draft next week. The esteemed quarterbacks — Trevor Lawrence, Zack Wilson, Justin Fields, Trey Lance, and Mac Jones — are spoken for via mock drafts, likely disabling a union with the Vikings at the 14th overall pick. Those men could easily fly off the draft board in the first 10 picks of the evening.
That would propel the Vikings to explore the 3rd Round of the event for a QB2. Or — the team could trade back in the 1st Round while securing a 2nd-Round pick, a commodity absent right now because the Jacksonville Jaguars own it from the Yannick Ngakoue trade.
According to KSTP‘s Darren Wolfson, the Vikings are doing the diligence to find a young quarterback.
Just heard @DWolfsonKSTP saying the Vikings have done a ton of homework on Kellen Mond 🙌🏻
— Ryan Boser 🇺🇸 🏈 (@Ryan_Boser) April 22, 2021
This Mond gentleman is a Texas A&M product, floating at the top of lists for every NFL team that doesn’t imminently need a quarterback. Ask any fan of a team like the Denver Broncos or Pittsburgh Steelers (teams that are somewhat set at quarterback) what the plan is for the draft. The reply usually sounds like, “I’d like to see them pick up that Kellen Mond in the 3rd Round or so.”
The Vikings are in that boat.
Bleacher Report picked up the Vikings QB2 needs, too. Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report affirmed on Friday that Minnesota is “doing work” on QBs from the draft. Knox wrote:
The Minnesota Vikings may not be desperate enough for a quarterback to trade up or take one with the 14th overall pick. After all, Minnesota has a serviceable starter in Kirk Cousins, who is under contract through 2022. However, this doesn’t mean the Vikings won’t draft a developmental quarterback at some point this year. According to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, Minnesota—along with Chicago—is at least looking into that possibility.
“Continue to hear the Vikings and Bears are doing a lot of work on QBs in this draft. Probably not to take one in the first round, I guess, but you never know,” La Canfora wrote.
While the Vikings have shown that they can make a playoff run with Cousins under center—they advanced to the divisional round in 2019—he has never been a truly elite signal-caller. With Cousins’ contract set to expire in two years, drafting a prospect who might be a down-the-line starter could certainly make sense for Minnesota. While that may not be likely in Round 1, the Vikings could be a team in the quarterback market on Day 2.
While Knox does not specifically mention Mond, the Aggie is the Holy Grail for the “draft a guy later on and develop him” mentality. Too, there are other quarterback prospects like Davis Mills (Stanford), Kyle Trask (Flordia), and Jamie Newman (Wake Forest).
Adding a QB2 via the draft makes the most sense as the expectation for 2021 and 2022 is for Cousins to lead the team — at least that’s the contractual plan. To prematurely deviate from Cousins would be an expensive, wasteful pathway. However, if 2021 resembles 2020 with an underwhelming record akin to 7-9, then the enterprise will experience grand changes — Cousins included.
Drafting a Mond, Mills, Trask, or Nemwan is sensible because one of those men would get a year or two to watch and learn — the way NFL teams used to do it.
If Cousins goes wild in 2021 and 2022 — fantabulous. The QB2 will be in his early 20s with a front row seat to the success. It will not hurt or hinder.
