Rick Spielman Floats Bizarre QB Solution for Vikings
Think the Minnesota Vikings are on a collision course to draft Drake Maye of North Carolina or J.J. McCarthy from Michigan?
Rick Spielman Floats Bizarre QB Solution for Vikings
That’s fine and dandy, but Rick Spielman would like to introduce his finest Spencer Rattler.
Opining on CBS Sports airwaves this week, Spielman made the case for Rattler to a quarterback-friendly system — the Vikings have one of those — and the former Vikings bossman even name-dropped his old team as a Rattler landing spot.
Spielman answered a question about Rattler’s ideal fit, first connecting him to San Francisco with a Brock Purdy connection: “Anyone coming out of that offensive system would be the best, whether it’s the Rams or whether it’s the 49ers. I would say even Minnesota.”
Rattler will likely be available to the Vikings and 31 other teams in Round 2 or 3, and in theory, could be a contingency plan for Minnesota if it struck out altogether on the draft’s Top 6 passers. Caleb Williams (USC), Drake Maye (North Carolina), Jayden Daniels (LSU), Michael Penix Jr. (Washington), J.J. McCarthy (Michigan), and Bo Nix (Oregon) are expected to go off the board in Rounds 1 and 2.
“I don’t know if Brock Purdy would be Brock Purdy if he wasn’t in San Francisco. They have to be in the right system, in the right fight, in the right coaching. If Rattler does get in that right area, then I think he has a chance, because there’s no question about the throwing and everything like that. It’s just if he’s not in the right situation, he’s gonna fail,” Spielman added about Rattler.
Vikings fans would be wildly unimpressed by Rattler as the quarterback solution during life after Kirk Cousins for two reasons: a) They’ve spent the last several weeks envisioning a blue-chip prospect like Maye or McCarthy as the draft pick | b) Rattler could be more of a reckless mid-rounder whose pro comp is closer to Nick Mullens than the Holy Grail of a Josh Allen or Justin Herbert, for example.
Interestingly, almost in the same vein as Spielman’s comments, NFL analyst Jackson McIntire, formerly of Pro Football Focus, tweeted about Rattler last weekend, “I’d be pretty shocked if he doesn’t go in the first round. He’s shown immense improvement in reading coverages and improving his approach to the game. I heard nothing but great things out of the Senior Bowl regarding him. In fact, I think teams and front offices are intentionally staying quiet on him to the media.”
“My digestive approach to him is while we can’t hand him great tape and say with more he would have excelled, we can see what he did with what he had, mix it with the MONSTER flashes of potential and eye-popping skill-set, and recognize that if he DID have proper structure and talent around him, the ceiling just might be limitless,” McIntire added.
The Vikings are unlikely to end up with the Rattler — they’ll probably pursue a more ironclad solution like Maye, McCarthy, or Jayden Daniels — but let it be known that Spielman wouldn’t necessarily be opposed.
Minnesota has tried mid-to-late round solutions before in Kellen Mond and Jaren Hall. None have worked to date.
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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