A Wild New Mock Draft Emerges
Ted Schwerzler
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The Minnesota Vikings have a pair of first-round picks to use during the upcoming NFL Draft. The thought process behind acquiring a second from the Houston Texans was to package it and move up to grab a top-4 quarterback. A new mock draft suggests a wildly different process, and this one would raise some eyebrows.
A Wild New Mock Draft Emerges
When Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah ultimately decide to make a move at the quarterback position, they will be taking their one big swing to grab a rookie and move on from Kirk Cousins. After the veteran chose to take his talents to Atlanta, a new signal caller would need to be established for the future.
While Minnesota isn’t going to get Caleb Williams, they could be in play for Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, or J.J. McCarthy. What they should be expected to do is grab multiple passers in the first round, but don’t tell that to Pro Football Focus’ Sam Monson. In his two-round mock draft, he has the Vikings landing Drake Maye at number nine overall but then also grabbing Michael Penix Jr. at 34th overall.
Neither of those spots is currently a place where Minnesota is set to pick. In both situations, the Vikings would be moving throughout the draft via trade. That part seems logical, and it makes sense for Minnesota to acquire a second or third-round pick in an effort to not sit out such a substantial period of the draft. That said, taking two quarterbacks with their top two picks would be something else.
Sam Darnold will go into the 2024 season as Minnesota’s starter. He will either remain that for the duration of the season because it went well, or the rookie will overtake him at some point. To draft quarterbacks with their top two picks would be something of an admittance that homework leaves the jury out on the first choice. In this scenario, Penix represents something of a fallback plan, which you cannot afford to have at such a critical position.
Beyond the uncertainty for their top signal caller, the Vikings are happy to draft a quarterback to reset the roster as a whole. A lower deal for the quarterback means more ways to supplement the rest of the 53-man roster. By using premium draft capital on a second quarterback, Minnesota would wildly ignore multiple other areas they could seek to improve.
Nothing about this situation seems plausible, for Maye being there at nine to grabbing two quarterbacks, and Minnesota would be unwise to let it play out.
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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