Zulgad’s four-and-out: Vikings fans must change thinking when it comes to finding new quarterback
The Vikings’ decision not to sign Kirk Cousins to a contract extension has caused conjecture that the team will select a quarterback in this month’s draft and might even take one in the opening round.
For Vikings fans, this is at the same time exciting and concerning.
Exciting because finding the quarterback of the future would give the team an inexpensive starter who could turn into a franchise player. Concerning because, well, these are the Vikings and you’re never far from a reminder that Christian Ponder was supposed to solve this issue when he was taken with the 12th pick in the 2011 draft.
So what should the trust level be this time around? Let’s examine some of the issues that come with this question.
Where could the Vikings take a quarterback?
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There have been more and more mock drafts that have the Vikings selecting a quarterback in the first round, including Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker at No. 23. Kentucky’s Will Levis also has been linked to Minnesota.
But the Vikings have other needs and they still have Cousins under contract for one more season. The team doesn’t have a second-round pick, but there would be nothing that would stop general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah from trading into that round or trying to grab a QB with his 87th selection in the third round.
One player who could interest the Vikings is Stanford’s Tanner McKee. McKee might be the perfect guy to sit behind Cousins and learn from coach Kevin O’Connell, a former backup quarterback in the NFL and a guy who is expected to be the difference in finding a QB.
Other quarterbacks down the draft board a bit include UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Fresno State’s Jake Haener.
There’s concern among some about the fact that veteran quarterbacks, like Cousins, can be hesitant to want to assist in developing their replacement but does that really matter?
Brett Favre didn’t feel it necessary that he help Aaron Rodgers, and Rodgers turned into a Hall of Fame quarterback despite spending three seasons behind Favre. That’s because the most important thing is the work the coaching staff does with a young player and having time to work behind the scenes is often beneficial.
No matter where the Vikings pick a quarterback, if they do take one, O’Connell is going to be the most important person in that player’s development.
What if the new quarterback doesn't work out?
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Rick Spielman was promoted to general manager by the Vikings in 2012 and drafted only three quarterbacks over the next 10 drafts. That list included Teddy Bridgewater (first round, 32nd overall, in 2014); Nate Stanley (seventh round, 244th overall in 2020); and Kellen Mond (third round, 66th overall, in 2021).
We’re going to include Ponder on Spielman’s resume because that draft was run by Spielman, with input from coach Leslie Frazier. The latter wanted a veteran QB (turned out to be Donovan McNabb) and the former wanted a young QB (Ponder).
Ponder’s failure and the fact Bridgewater’s time with the Vikings was derailed by a gruesome, non-contact leg injury in 2016, might have given Spielman a case of the quarterback yips. Stanley was nothing more than an extra arm, and Mond was criticized by former coach Mike Zimmer in 2021 and then jettisoned by O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah after a rough training camp last summer.
Spielman’s struggle to find a quarterback — which led to him signing Kirk Cousins to a fully guaranteed deal in 2018 — impacted how some feel about the team’s search for a QB.
Part of the problem was Spielman didn’t seem to trust himself enough when it came to taking shots on the position. Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell aren’t going to have that issue.
First, the security for both is extremely high coming off a 13-win season in their first year together. Second, taking calculated gambles on quarterbacks is a must, especially if you trust your ability to identify the talent you want.
The extreme example is the Kansas City Chiefs’ trade of three draft picks to Buffalo in the 2017 draft in order to grab Patrick Mahomes with the 10th selection. A year later, the Bills made a trade with Tampa Bay to move from 12th to seventh after moving up from 22nd when they traded LT Cordy Glenn in the opening round in order to grab Josh Allen.
There are degrees of criticism that will come with the failure of a QB to develop — harsh if it’s a first-round selection, far milder if it’s a third-round pick or later — but that can’t deter a general manager or his coach from continuing to try.
Otherwise, you end up having to sign a free agent — and the good ones don’t hit the open market — to a contract that causes significant salary cap issues.
How much trust does Kevin O'Connell deserve?
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There is a long list of reasons why owners Zygi and Mark Wilf hired O’Connell as their coach, but the ability to develop the Vikings’ first franchise quarterback since Fran Tarkenton might have been No. 1.
O’Connell’s own quarterback resume isn’t all that impressive. A third-round pick in 2008 out of San Diego State, O’Connell spent time with New England, Detroit, the Jets, Miami, the Jets again and the Chargers when they were still in San Diego.
He was with Detroit, Miami and San Diego on either the practice squad or in the offseason. His only NFL action came in 2008, when he appeared in two games and threw six passes for the Patriots.
So why is this a positive? Because often players who had the greatest success, struggle to understand why young guys can’t do what they did. O’Connell knows exactly how hard it is to make it in the NFL and exactly what he wants and how to teach it. That’s why he was a successful position coach and coordinator before taking the Vikings job.
It was no accident that O’Connell got more from Cousins when it came to winning games than Zimmer and his staff ever did. Now, imagine O’Connell having the ability to mold a young quarterback with far more talent than he had?
There might come a day when we realize that O’Connell doesn’t deserve the type of trust we’re talking about, but the Wilfs are betting he will be able to do what Brad Childress, Frazier and Zimmer couldn’t. That’s mold a young quarterback into a top-level talent.
What about trading up for a quarterback?
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The Vikings aren’t going to get any of the top three quarterbacks with the 23rd pick in the April 27 draft — Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson will be long gone — and Levis isn’t likely to fall that far either.
So would Adofo-Mensah entertain giving up future No. 1 draft picks to try to move up into the Top 5? There has been speculation the Cardinals, who already are set at quarterback with Kyler Murray, are looking to move the No. 3 selection.
This is interesting because we know so little about Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell. While last year’s regular season was a success, Adofo-Mensah’s first draft remains a question mark and the Vikings won with a majority of players drafted by Spielman.
This will be the first year in which it really will be Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell’s show. That means we can’t dismiss almost any scenario, including a trade-up to get a quarterback.
However, if that happens, one has to think that Cousins would be immediately shopped and asked to waive his no-trade clause. It’s one thing to take a projected QB and have him sit behind the veteran. It’s another to grab a top prospect, let’s say Stroud, and not play him immediately.
Yes, the Packers have let Jordan Love burn through much of his five-year rookie contract while continuing to play Rodgers, but Love was taken with the 26th pick in the 2020 draft. It’s very different if it’s a Top 5 to 10 selection.
The guess here is the Vikings will trade back, not up, but if O’Connell has become enamored with one of the top QBs in this draft, we likely aren’t going to find out until the first round arrives.
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