It Has to Be All or Nothing for Minnesota in Draft
Ted Schwerzler
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The Minnesota Vikings signified their intentions when dealing for a second first-round pick. Now, with the Houston Texans’ ammo at their disposal, it isn’t time for half-measures. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah must go all in.
It Has to Be All or Nothing for Minnesota in Draft
With a top-tier group that is composed of three quarterbacks in the upcoming NFL Draft, Minnesota can’t afford to take the next best option. J.J. McCarthy may wind up being a solid NFL quarterback, but he is also seen as more of a project than any of Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, or Drake Maye.
Minnesota shouldn’t be expected to grab the first overall pick. The Chicago Bears need a quarterback after trading Justin Fields, and they will get one in Williams. While the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots need quarterbacks, each could be swayed by a haul of picks to supplement their rosters.
Right now, the Vikings can package the 11th and 23rd overall picks to move up the draft board. They should be willing to move a first-round pick in 2025 and 2026 if necessary. The goal is to draft the next franchise quarterback, and addressing that need with a half-measure is setting yourself up for failure. If Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell don’t get that pick right, they won’t be around to see what happens in those future years anyway.
The first part of the equation has to be making sure that the evaluation is sound on both Daniels and Maye. Knowing which one they believe more in and who they truly want must be a certainty prior to draft day. From there, the goal needs to be positioning themselves in a spot to take the one they covet.
If they believe their guy will finish second to the Commanders, then they need to trade into that spot.
Trading to the 4th overall pick and taking McCarthy seems like it would be a reach. The Arizona Cardinals aren’t taking him there, and while other teams ahead of them could jump, they would be trading up solely to come up just shy of the player they actually want. Moving up needs to be done with purpose, and if that isn’t going to be the plan, then sitting back and waiting on a quarterback should be the pivot.
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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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