Questions Answered: Dak Prescott in Purple, The Drake Maye Angle, Main QB Competition
Dustin Baker
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The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the March 28th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].
Questions Answered: Dak Prescott in Purple, The Drake Maye Angle, Main QB Competition
Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.
Q: Saw an article saying the Vikings could pursue Dak Prescott next year. Are you buying that?
Answer: No.
That article was from Gridiron Heroics, and Matt Lombardo wrote, “Thanks to having more than $104 million in projected cap space for 2025, Minnesota could be positioned to make the strongest offer to Prescott, if they don’t walk away from this year’s draft with their franchise quarterback in the fold.”
The Vikings will have executed their QB1 plan by the time Prescott becomes a free agent — next year — and if Prescott isn’t re-signed by then, he’d encounter a Kirk Cousins-like experience, touring the NFL for his next place of employment.
Minnesota won’t be a part of this. It will likely have Drake Maye or J.J. McCarthy on the roster for an affordable five years. Prescott is not affordable. And that’s the reason Cousins left the Vikings: money.
Q: How seriously do you take the “Josh McCown as Drake Maye’s high school coach” angle?
Answer: It’s somewhat substantial.
It shouldn’t be considered the almighty smoking gun, but it can’t hurt. That’s our stance. Maye has the physical tools, stature, and college production to succeed in the NFL. We believe the Vikings would be interested in Maye even if McCown weren’t hired as the quarterback coach.
However, if it’s a perk for the Vikings to have McCown in-house while drafting Maye, sign us up.
Q: Who’s the Vikings’ primary competition in trading up the draftboard for a quarterback?
A: The Denver Broncos
The Broncos must navigate $85 million in dead cap funds left behind by the failed Russell Wilson trade and experiment. Head coach Sean Payton will need an affordable quarterback for the next few years to offset the pain of Wilson’s albatross.
The draft is the easiest way to find a productive and cheap quarterback for four to five years. So, yes, the Broncos cannot be ignored as the Vikings’ trade competition in four weeks.
The spot would be the Arizona Cardinals at No. 4 — because it’s severely unlikely for the Los Angeles Chargers to do trade business at No. 5 with a division rival. The Vikings have that going for them.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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