7 QBs the Vikings Can Still Draft on Day 3
Janik Eckardt
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Five quarterbacks heard their names called in the first three rounds. The universally regarded top five, Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Will Levis, and Hendon Hooker is no longer available for the Vikings but they can still draft one QB.
After selecting Jordan Addison in round one and his USC teammate Mekhi Blackmon in the third round, the Vikings have five more picks on Saturday in the final four rounds of the draft, they gained a couple of picks by trading back from pick 87 to 102 with the San Francisco 49ers.
7 QBs the Vikings Can Still Draft on Day 3
Quarterback Kirk Cousins is entering the final year of his contract and the only other passer on the roster is Nick Mullens. The team should look to add another QB, someone who they can groom into a capable player, maybe they find their Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins, or Brock Purdy for the cost of a late-round selection.
None of the available QBs are great prospects, that’s why they weren’t drafted in the first three rounds. The Vikings need to find the one guy who has the tools and the mindset to become more than a backup.
Tanner McKee
The passer out of Stanford draws a lot of comparisons to Kirk Cousins. He is a statue in the pocket and offers close to no mobility. However, he is a big and smart pocket passer with decent arm strength and good decision-making ability.
The lack of mobility and the accuracy of a backup give him a low ceiling, he is unlikely to become a starter in the league but has some desired qualities. If the Vikings like Cousins, they could be in the market for McKee to see if they can work on his flaws to get Cousins 2.0 for a lot less money.
McKee threw for 28 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in two years as the starter in Stanford’s horrendous offense.
Jaren Hall
The QB out of BYU is much more fun to watch. He is undersized and already 25 years old but he has the athletic tools to become more than he should be. Hall can escape the pocket and create plays, his arm is strong enough to make NFL-level throws but he could be a better processor and needs to learn to get rid of the ball quicker.
While his ability to create outside of the pocket and out of the structure is a great thing to have, sometimes the easy pass is the better option than running into a sack. Hall also must improve his accuracy but showed flashes of the ability to pull off high-level throws.
The BYU QB passed for 6,174 yards, 52 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in his career and improved every season. It will be interesting to see how much he can still improve despite his age.
Clayton Tune
Coming out of Houston, like Case Keenum, Tune offers mind-blowing numbers. Almost 1,500 pass attempts make him one of the most experienced passers imaginable, he turned those attempts into almost 12,000 passing yards, 104 touchdowns, and 41 interceptions. In the last two seasons alone, Tune recorded 70 touchdowns.
Another similarity to Keenum is his toughness. He is resilient when facing adversity. Tune is not a player who will blow fans away with outstanding plays, but he is a tough and experienced QB who can make full-field reads. Neither accuracy, athleticism, nor arm strength are on his side.
Tune is projected to be a backup in the league but he has never shied away from adversity and shouldn’t be counted out. If he can slightly improve in some areas, he could be more than just a backup.
Aidan O’Connell
The Purdue QB will turn 25 before his rookie season begins but similar to Tune, he has a lot of experience. 1,239 attempts for 9,219 yards, 65 touchdowns, and 30 interceptions are what teams are looking for.
O’Connell is a statue in the pocket and not a running threat but possesses excellent football IQ, decent accuracy, has good timing and anticipation. Limited arm talent and athletic ability are the reason why he will be a late-round pick.
Jake Haener
Haener out of Fresno State is another undersized quarterback with subpar arm strength but he is a smart football player. His ability to quickly process things could give him a role in a timing-based offense, an offense that prefers the quick game.
The 24-year-old QB threw for roughly 7,000 yards, 53 touchdowns, and only 12 interceptions in the last two years and 23 games at Fresno State.
Stetson Bennett
Bennett is the best-known prospect on the list because of his many games on the big stage. He was the starting quarterback of the back-to-back champions Georgia and recorded 56 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in the last couple of seasons.
The Georgia alumnus went from a walk-on to junior college, back to Georgia, to the fourth spot in the Heisman voting last season. Bennett will celebrate his 26th birthday during his rookie campaign, is a small quarterback and possesses mostly average skills, without any high-end tools but his toughness, the history of elevating his play against top competition in the bright lights, processing ability, and mobility are intriguing.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson
The QB of UCLA easily possesses the highest upside of the group. He is 23 years old, is a serious rushing threat with his 4.56 40-yard dash, and has elite arm strength. Similar to Hall, Thompson-Robinson can create plays out of the structure and is a true playmaker. He can pull off some Mahomes-like plays. Something that is rare for a mobile quarterback who is available on day 3, DTR possesses good accuracy.
However, he is not a perfect prospect either. The UCLA QB had some mind-boggling throws, he sometimes throws it right into the defender, including a pick-six to Vikings third-rounder Mekhi Blackmon. He is also a small quarterback. 6’1″ and 204 pounds isn’t the size of a durable NFL QB.
In his five-year college career, Thompson-Robinson passed for over 10,000 yards and 88 touchdowns. If the Vikings are looking for someone with the tools to become a starter in the league, he is the guy to target.
All of the players on the list are projected to be backups in their careers, it’s now the responsibility of Kevin O’Connell to figure out which one of them has the potential to be more than that. He must find a guy who he can turn into a decent QB.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt
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