One Rookie QB Prospect Seems Ruled Out for Vikings
In two and a half weeks, the Minnesota Vikings will conduct a pivotal three days in franchise history, entering the 2024 NFL Draft with a giant question mark at the quarterback position.
One Rookie QB Prospect Seems Ruled Out for Vikings
Kirk Cousins left for the Atlanta Falcons about a month ago, and in the meantime, the Vikings signed veteran signal-caller Sam Darnold — probably as a bridge quarterback — and pulled off a March trade, sending two 2nd-Round picks to Houston for the Texans’ 2024 1st-Rounder (Pick No. 23) and a late-round pick swap.
So, that set the stage for a quarterback draft pick, perhaps by trading up the board with ammunition of the Nos. 11 and 23 picks. This week, though, one promising prospect seemed to get ruled out for Minnesota after no Pro Day meeting materialized. He’s LSU’s Jayden Daniels.
Daniels’ Pro Day transpired on March 27th, but onlookers learned thereafter that Minnesota reportedly didn’t pull off a private meeting.
KSTP’s Darren Wolfson said on the Mackey and Judd Show a few days ago, “Let me make this clear: the Vikings want to connect with Jayden Daniels. This would be more the Jayden Daniels camp [saying]: ‘We think our client is going No. 2 to Washington, or his floor is No. 3. We really don’t think New England is going to move off of No. 3. Why have him do all these meetings it’s already been a lengthy pre-draft process, let’s not overload him let’s have him focus on Washington, focus on New England. Do we need him to focus on the Vikings?’
Oddsmakers believe Daniels will land in Washington with the Commanders, mainly because of offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s affinity for mobile quarterbacks. If the Commanders want Daniels, he’ll be there because the Chicago Bears are a virtual lock to draft USC’s Caleb Williams with the first pick.
Wolfson continued, “That’s what the Vikings are trying to sell the Daniels camp on: ‘Yes, we are heavily interested. There is a scenario where we could land him. We want to do as much homework on him as possible. That’s where the dialogue continues, but make no mistake, the Vikings hope to connect with Daniels.”
If the Vikings are experiencing difficulty chatting with Daniels, well, maybe he’s not the right guy for life after Cousins. He likely won’t be available for Minnesota, and the man’s camp is allegedly making it difficult to communicate.
Instead, Minnesota is more likely to trade up and draft Drake Maye of North Carolina or Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy. Sportsbooks also maintain that the probability of the Vikings landing Michael Penix Jr. of Washington remains high, all things considered.
McCarthy is the frontrunner to become a Viking from this quarterback class, holding about even +100 odds. Daniels to Minnesota is hovering around +800.
Daniels’ college coach, Brian Kelly, might’ve spilled the beans at his Pro Day about the young passer ending up with the Commanders.
4 Dark Horse Outcomes for Vikings Draft
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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