Is the Jayden Daniels Interest Mutual for Vikings?
The Minnesota Vikings will need a substantial addition at the quarterback position if they want to be in a good place going forward. Sam Darnold could wind up playing above projections, but the greater likelihood is that they’ll take a top quarterback prospect. If Jayden Daniels wants to play here, does Minnesota want him?
Is the Jayden Daniels Interest Mutual for Vikings?
Minnesota has dominated the draft talk regarding quarterbacks. Despite being well below organizations like the Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, and New England Patriots, it continues to be conventional wisdom that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will force himself into that conversation.
The top quarterback prospects are all well-known by now. Caleb Williams isn’t going to be an option for the Vikings, but it seems plausible that every other prospect is in play. The top two names linked to Minnesota have been J.J. McCarthy and Drake Maye. Both would need to be acquired by jumping up in the draft. Michael Penix and Bo Nix have been floated as names if stockpiling picks and trading down becomes the strategy.
One name that hasn’t been real-heavily linked to the Vikings is Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels. His skillset is clearly elite, and he’s truly the dual-threat pinnacle on the board. That is something that Kevin O’Connell hasn’t had during his time with the Vikings, and truthfully, it went underutilized while playing Josh Dobbs in certain situations.
Even though Daniels, as Darren Wolfson reports, wants to be in Minnesota, that doesn’t mean there’s a marriage in the works. O’Connell’s system is complex, and both Maye and McCarthy represent quarterbacks closer to what Kirk Cousins brought to the table. If the goal is to get that prospect under center more quickly, finding someone with a similar skill set makes sense.
Ultimately, the Vikings should be the desired landing spot for any quarterback. No team has a better top-two wide receiver situation. T.J. Hockenson is among the best tight ends in the league, and Aaron Jones immediately steps in as a star if he can remain healthy. Adding in an offensive line with set bookends and little turnover, it’s an ideal situation and makes sense why anyone would covet that landing place.
Daniels could be in play if the Vikings move up to the top three picks, but it seems as though interest in him might be among the greatest Minnesota smokescreens thus far.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
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