Questions Answered: The Vikings’ F-Word, Kyle Rudolph’s Wild Idea, Dalton Risner

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The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the March 27th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].

Questions Answered: The Vikings’ F-Word, Kyle Rudolph’s Wild Idea, Dalton Risner

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.

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Q: Vikings leaders keep talking about their “flexibility.” Is there any way they leave the draft in April without a new quarterback?

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Answer: No. They will draft a quarterback.

Vikings owner Mark Wilf said about the team’s quarterback plan, “When it comes to the quarterback position, it’s certainly critical, and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O’Connell are working hard. We’ve got a plan, and Sam Darnold is part of it. We’re excited he’s in the building, and we’re excited we have two first-round picks, so we’ll see where it all goes. We have a lot of flexibility, and we’ll see what happens.”

And the team’s head coach + general manager have echoed similar sentiments.

All the “flexibility” means is that Sam Darnold can play quarterback until the rookie passer is ready. Minnesota will still leave the draft with a rookie quarterback — almost no matter what — but it wants would-be trade partners to know it has options.

Q: Do you agree with Kyle Rudolph that the Vikings should ignore the early rounds of the draft and just pick Joe Milton in Round 6 or so?

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Answer: No, this is a terrible idea.

“I see, after watching the Combine, a guy like Joe Milton from Tennessee. You have just super, freak potential athleticism. You’re not going to have to mortgage your future to get a guy like that,” Rudolph told The Up and Adams Show this week.

Nope — no thanks. The Vikings tried the mid-to-late round thing with Kellen Mond and Jaren Hall. No luck.

It’s time to trade up and obtain a blue-chip prospect.

Q: Any word on Minnesota bringing Dalton Risner back at left guard?

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Former Denver Broncos offensive guard Dalton Risner on Monday Night Football during his first start with the Minnesota Vikings. U.S. Bank Stadium, October 23rd, 2023. Risner started for an injured Ezra Cleveland.

A: The ship has probably sailed on Dalton Risner.

Otherwise, Minnesota would’ve signed Risner during the first couple of waves in free agency. They have not. On the other hand, Adofo-Mensah re-upped with Blake Brandel for three years, and the Vikings coaching staff might just enjoy his upside as a starter.

The purple team also holds oodles of mid- and late-round draft picks next month — heavy emphasis on the late. It can probably snag a promising guard then and let that man compete with Brandel this summer.

Kevin O’Connell’s coaching staff has worked wonders with the offensive line — wonders not produced by the Mike Zimmer-led Vikings from 2014 to 2021 — so it should be afforded the benefit of the doubt regarding OL solutions.


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.