The creature known as “Florida Man” has many talents. He can eat pancakes in the middle of a crosswalk. He will steal a Wal-Mart scooter to drive to the local sports bar. And he’s able to throw a live alligator through a Wendy’s drive-thru window.
But for the Minnesota Vikings, one Florida Man has the ability to generate his own headlines in this year’s draft. His name is Anthony Richardson.
SI’s Albert Breer introduced the possibility of Minnesota looking for a new quarterback in this year’s draft due to Kirk Cousins‘ contract situation and age. While Breer states that Cousins will likely be the quarterback for the Vikings in 2023, he notes that if Richardson falls to the 24th- (or is it 23rd?) overall pick in this year’s draft, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will likely be sprinting to the podium.
“Minnesota’s been here before,” Breer wrote in his latest mailbag article. “Had Justin Fields slipped to where the team was initially picking in 2021 (No. 14), before dealing down and taking Christian Darrisaw with the 23rd pick, the now-Bears quarterback would have been a serious consideration. So if, say, Anthony Richardson were to fall into their laps at 24, it’s easy for me to see the Vikings seeing a raw prospect who could develop for a year behind Cousins and wind up being a monster for them a few years down the line.”
There are a couple of things to unpack here. First, it confirms what Adofo-Mensah hinted at during his end-of-season press conference: Cousins will be the starting quarterback next season. Second, it means the Vikings could have their eye on someone they can mold behind Cousins.
When looking at this year’s draft class, Richardson is the ultimate draft-and-stash prospect at quarterback. At 6’4″ and 232 lbs., Richardson has the size of the five-star athlete you’ve been trying to recruit in College Football Revamped. He has the athleticism to make big plays on the ground or buy more time in the pocket. He also has a cannon for an arm which generated a 93.1 deep-passing grade from Pro Football Focus.
The only problem? Richardson is also one of the rawest prospects in the draft. PFF charted him with just 455 dropbacks in his college career and his 53.8% completion percentage could have some people gritting their teeth at the thought of seeing him in purple. Experts have also been critical of his footwork, so it might take a year or two before Richardson is ready to go, which would be perfect for the Vikings.
Minnesota isn’t in a position where they need a quarterback, but they should still take one. Cousins is in the final year of the one-year, $40 million extension he signed last spring. At age 35, his toes are slowly peaking over the age cliff. The Vikings could strike another iron-clad one-year deal to keep Cousins in Minnesota. However, with the rest of the team needing an overhaul, it might not be smart to forge ahead without a backup plan.
This is a buyer’s class at quarterback, but it’s also one that would generate headlines if the Vikings traded up. Bryce Young is smaller than a typical NFL quarterback, but he has a big enough highlight reel that he’ll probably be the first- or second-overall pick in the draft. C.J. Stroud has issues under pressure, but he also is a household name after a tremendous career at Ohio State. Will Levis is a bit under the radar, but he makes poor decisions on the field and puts mayonnaise in his coffee* off of it. Still, his arm talent is enough to make him an elite prospect.
(*My apologies if you’re eating lunch while reading this.)
As for Richardson? People understand that it’s going to take time for him to be an NFL starter and bringing him in for Cousins is a perfect situation to allow him to develop. If Cousins can perform adequately and continue his T-1000-like pain tolerance next season, it could be the redshirt year for Kevin O’Connell to work with his new quarterback.
Still, drafting Richardson comes with some risk. The Vikings would probably like to continue their competitive rebuild. Therefore, it might raise eyebrows if the Vikings decided to select a quarterback (or trade up for one) in the draft with every level of the defense needing help.
This cautionary tale played out in Green Bay when the Packers decided to take Jordan Love to succeed Aaron Rodgers in the 2020 draft. Love has only made one start over three seasons in the NFL, and Rodgers is sitting in a dark room somewhere wondering why they didn’t just draft a receiver for a team that wound up going to the NFC Championship game.
But drafting Love didn’t hurt Green Bay’s future as much as the three-year, $150 million contract extension the Packers gave a 39-year-old Rodgers last offseason. If Rodgers doesn’t stay in Green Bay this season, the Packers can trot Love out for a season, find another quarterback, or hope he turns into Jalen Hurts and plays his way into a new deal.
That doesn’t capitalize on the rookie quarterback window that allowed the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles to load up their rosters on the way to the Super Bowl. But if it gets them a franchise quarterback, it would put them in a better situation than if they didn’t have one at all.
Case in point, Cousins currently costs the same price as Patrick Mahomes, who was good enough to win a Super Bowl on a team that had to get rid of Tyreek Hill for salary cap reasons. There probably isn’t a Kansas City Chiefs fan wishing they had held on to Alex Smith for another couple of years and drafted an offensive tackle. So in some cases, the slow development curve works out.
If it doesn’t, the Vikings can simply go back to the drawing board with a roster that could be in the vaunted “one quarterback away” category.
That could be true for the Vikings if Richardson falls anywhere near the 24th- (or is it 23rd?) overall pick in the draft. If the Vikings can draft him, this Florida Man could make some headlines of his own including:
“Florida Man absolutely slings it.”
“Florida Man punishes opposing defense.”
“Florida Man runs over linebacker.”
And not least:
“Florida Man leads Vikings to the Super Bowl.”
