Florida Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson (15) scrambles with the ball during the second half against the Eastern Washington Eagles at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Sunday, October 2, 2022. © Matt Pendleton / USA TODAY NETWORK.
The draft is less than one week away, and the Vikings could go in many different directions with their top selection, the 23rd overall pick. Some positions need to be filled after the departure of a player in free agency. Wide receiver and defensive tackle come to mind. Others need to be addressed after poor play in 2022, like cornerback or linebacker.
However, the Vikings could also throw some draft capital at a quarterback after not extending Kirk Cousins’ deal for the first time during his tenure with the organization. Barring any surprising extension news in the next ten months, he will be a free agent next March, and the purple team must find his successor.
Searching for a successor is never easy and even harder without a draft selection inside the top 10. Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson, and Kirk Cousins were all drafted outside of the top 30 picks in their drafts, but it is way easier to find a talented guy at the top of the draft. The problem for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is if he wants one of those top guys, he must trade up to get him.
Those trades are expensive, and teams pay a premium if the pick is indeed used for a QB, but if one starts to tumble down the board, the Vikings should consider a move. Chad Reuter, a draft analyst from NFL.com, published his latest mock draft, and he paints the picture of how a Vikings trade for one of the QBs could actually look like.
He envisions the Vikings trading up to the 10th spot in the draft to grab the remaining QB of the top group. Bryce Young, Will Levis, and C.J. Stroud all went off the board within the first four picks, but Florida’s Anthony Richardson is still available when the Eagles are on the clock with their 10th overall pick, and Reuter thinks Adofo-Mensah will make a move in that scenario.
GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has not been shy about trading draft picks since taking on the job last year. Richardson’s potential as a dual-threat playmaker validates the hefty price Minnesota pays to jump up the board: the 23rd overall pick, a 2023 third-rounder (No. 87) and a 2024 first-rounder. (The Vikings also probably trade down in the fourth round to regain a selection.)
Chad Reuter, NFL.com
The Vikings’ GM is indeed someone who loves to trade. He traded up and down the board regularly last year. None of the ten draft picks were selected with a pick originally owned by the Vikings. Minnesota has been the organization with the most trades on draft day since 2011, but non is as exciting as a potential swap for Richardson.
Rick Spielman traded into the first round to choose Teddy Bridgewater with the 32nd overall pick in 2014, and he also chose to draft Christian Ponder in 2011 with the 12th overall pick. The highest QB drafted by the Vikings was Daunte Culpepper 11th overall in 1999.
The compensation for the trade is the 23rd overall pick, next year’s first-round pick, and this year’s third-rounder, pick number 87. While that is not cheap by any means, it is an acceptable price to acquire the future franchise QB. No one will ever bring up the trade compensation if he works out. Minnesota would only pick once in the first 118 picks.
The terms of the trade are close to the one that changed the league in 2017 when the Chiefs traded up from the 27th pick to the same 10th pick. Kansas City gave up picks 27 and 91 in 2017 and an additional first-rounder in 2018 to Buffalo to pick Patrick Mahomes. Two Super Bowl titles later, they certainly don’t regret that.
Richardson has the potential to be an elite quarterback in the NFL. The problem is the likelihood of getting there. He struggles with his throwing, accuracy has been a problem for him even on easy throws, so some mechanical issues must be fixed.
The exciting part is his exceptional athleticism. He ran a 4.43 40-yard dash at 244 pounds. His body looks like that of a pass rusher. His athletic testing and measurements looked eerily similar to Micah Parsons, the star linebacker from the Dallas Cowboys.
Richardson will instantly be a running threat on the field. He has the upside to run for more than 1,000 yards like Justin Fields and Lamar Jackson. Because of that, his floor is high, and he can be effective despite some throwing struggles at the beginning of his career.
The QB prospect is not a bad passer. He is simply an inconsistent one. His best throws on tape are absolutely elite. He can make high-level throws only a handful of NFL QBs can even think of trying with his incredible arm talent.
His role in Minnesota would be another similarity to Mahomes in Kansas City, as he would sit behind Cousins for a year before he takes over the reins. He could privately work on his flaws without the pressure of doing it under the bright lights of an NFL stadium.
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