It's time for the Vikings to take a big swing for a franchise QB
Apr. 24—This is the year. This is the time when the Minnesota Vikings need to make their big move in the draft to select a quarterback.
The six-year run of Kirk Cousins ended following his injury-ended season in 2023 when the Vikings didn't make a serious effort to re-sign him.
Cousins put up good to great numbers during his tenure with the Vikings, but the team had modest success. They managed one division title, two playoff berths and one playoff win. Of course, the Vikings had just one playoff win in the six years before Cousins arrived as well.
Now is a time for a new chapter.
After a 7-10 season, the Vikings have the No. 11 overall pick in the draft and they traded a pair of second-round picks to acquire the No. 23 overall pick.
It's time to swing big and make a big splash.
The Vikings have never selected a quarterback with a top-10 pick in their history. They selected Daunte Culpepper with pick No. 11 in 1999 (thumbs up) and Christian Ponder with pick No. 12 in 2011 (thumbs down).
Adding a second first-round pick should mean the Vikings have one thing in mind: trading up from No. 11 into the top five to land their franchise QB of the future.
The question becomes, who do the Vikings really want to target at quarterback and how much draft capital are they willing to give up?
Four quarterbacks could be among the top 10 picks in the draft so the Vikings will likely have to wheel and deal to land their man. And they may face plenty of competition from other teams willing to trade up.
The draft begins with the first round on Thursday and if the Vikings do trade, it will likely be with their trade partner on the draft clock.
The Chicago Bears are going to pick quarterback Caleb Williams No. 1 overall. After that, things could get interesting. The Washington Commanders and New England Patriots pick second and third. Both teams need quarterbacks, but have other holes to fill.
Washington? The Commanders are not going to trade and will pick a quarterback, either Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye.
The Patriots might want four first-round draft picks for the No. 3 pick. Do the Vikings want to pay that high of a price on an unknown commodity? The thought here is no. The Patriots appear to be a poor landing spot for a QB, but if that's their price, they can keep the pick and choose between Daniels, Maye or J.J. McCarthy.
Trading away a fortune for a quarterback who is a flop could be a disaster for Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who hasn't exactly been stellar in his first two drafts.
The Arizona Cardinals have the No. 4 overall pick, but the guess is they won't pass up selecting wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
The Los Angeles Chargers at No. 5 don't need a quarterback, but could use one of the excellent receivers on the board. But the Chargers also have plenty of needs and this is the perfect trade partner for the Vikings to target.
Trading from No. 11 to No. 5 won't cost four first-round picks, but it could cost three. If the Vikings can avoid dealing their No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, that's a huge bonus because it very well could be a top-12 pick.
The Vikings have a lot of great offensive pieces in place for a young quarterback. That includes two strong offensive tackles (Christian Darriasaw and Brian O'Neill), the best wide receiver in football (Justin Jefferson), another emerging receiver (Jordan Addison) and an excellent tight end (T.J. Hockenson).
If the Vikings do swing a big trade and pick a QB, that could be their lone top pick in the top two rounds for this season and next. Even the No. 4 quarterback in this draft might be a perfect fit for coach Kevin O'Connell, however.
Of course, they could also stand pat at No. 11 and No. 23 and hope a QB falls to them. Or they could settle for the next tier of signal-callers, Michael Penix Jr. or Bo Nix. But that's not going to excite the fan base.
The prediction here: The Vikings send picks No. 11, 23 and a No. 1 in 2025 to the Chargers. In return, the Vikings receive pick No. 5 and a pick in the second or third round next year.
And with pick No. 5, the Vikings select quarterback J.J. McCarthy of Michigan.
Let the new era begin.
Guy N. Limbeck is a sports writer for the Post Bulletin. He can be reached at
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