‘The Draft Network’ Has Eye on New QB for Vikings
Dustin Baker
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The new general manager for the Minnesota Vikings — who will probably be announced next week — has a franchise-altering decision to make on the future of current quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Does he outfit the Vikings trenches with adequate pass protection, surrounding Cousins with the OL fortifications to flourish? Or will he throw in the towel on the Cousins Experiment, presumably opting for a new, younger face as teams like the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills have executed successfully as of late?
Several mock drafts believe the latter, choosing a youthful quarterback of the future for the Vikings while utilizing Cousins as a 1-2 years patchover passer — or trading Cousins altogether. Malik Willis from Liberty has been floated as a quarterback available to Minnesota with its 12th overall pick in April’s draft.
But The Draft Network offers a different idea in its latest mock draft — Sam Howell from the University of North Carolina.
Howell is a gritty mobile quarterback, shining in 2021 with 39 total touchdowns and just seven interceptions. On Howell for the Vikings, The Draft Network‘s Kyle Crabbs wrote:
“The Vikings will free themselves up a lot of flexibility if they can trade QB Kirk Cousins’ $35M guaranteed 2022 salary off their books this offseason—a venture I think they should explore. But that cost combined with Cousins’ age and ceiling may be prohibitive to the team successfully hauling in an ideal return. I don’t think they get a first for him. Sam Howell would benefit greatly from going into an environment where his supporting skill players are top-notch—as he had in 2020 when playing with Javonte Williams and Michael Carter in the backfield plus Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome at wide receiver.”
During his final season at North Carolina, Howell found his legs, galloping for 828 rushing yards on 183 carries. He ran the football about 15 times per game, a swollen figure compared to his first two seasons as a Tarheel.
And that might just be the way to go for the Vikings — the mobility — because the last handful of passers in Minnesota didn’t tuck and run too often. From Matt Cassel, Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Bradford, Case Keenum, to Kirk Cousins — none of those men earned a living rushing with the football 15 times per game. Not even close.
The fundamental aspect of the quarterback quandary to monitor amid the next couple of months is the new general manager’s mindset. If he trades Cousins, one can be assured a quarterback will be drafted in the 1st or 2nd Round. The days of entering a season totally rudderless at quarterback are over. In the 1990s and 2000s, teams might employ a game manager, relying on running the football and playing staunch defense. But that’s a dying breed.
If Cousins is dealt, men like Kenny Pickett, Matt Corral, Malik Willis, and Howell will be studied judiciously by the new boss. Left up to The Draft Network, Powell makes the most sense.
In Crabb’s mock draft, Kenny Pickett and Matt Corral were selected before Howell. Pickett landed with the Carolina Panthers, and Corral was theorized to the New York Jets.
The NFL draft starts on April 28.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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