The clock is ticking for the Minnesota Vikings.
We’re not talking about the moment when the Vikings are on the actual clock with the 23rd-overall pick in the NFL Draft. We’re talking about the clock to find their quarterback of the future.
Kirk Cousins is in the final year of his contract and despite his reported willingness to take a “discount,” the Vikings haven’t reached an agreement on an extension. Even if they kept Cousins, he’s entering his age-35 season – a point where most quarterbacks regress.
This has led the Vikings to be connected with several quarterbacks in the draft. But there is one question they should ask themselves. Do they need to take a quarterback in this class?
The answer is complicated.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell have frequently stated that having a starting quarterback is basically taken for granted until you don’t have one. It’s why one of their first moves was signing Cousins to a one-year extension with a no-trade clause. After all, if you’re going to be Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner, you might as well build a safety net.
In this case, the Road Runner is a young franchise quarterback. In recent years, teams have self-destructed to get a shot at a top quarterback. When it works, teams giddily march toward free agency, filling out a roster knowing they have Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, or Trevor Lawrence at a discount.
But what happens if that quarterback isn’t good? That’s where general managers get themselves into trouble.
Consider the San Francisco 49ers, who traded three first-round picks for the right to select Trey Lance. Lance’s development hasn’t gone as planned, and John Lynch was last seen at the owner’s meeting trying to convince himself that Brock Purdy’s elbow will be fine after undergoing a surgery that has knocked baseball pitchers out for multiple seasons.
With a roster that’s ready to win a Super Bowl, Lynch has found himself in a desperate situation and may have to complete the NFL’s greatest love story that has never happened.
The same goes for the New York Jets, who have taken multiple swings at a quarterback only to fall flat on their face. After whiffing on Sam Darnold and Zach Wilson, the Jets are currently trying to court a 39-year-old future Hall of Famer who may or may not be on drugs.
Fortunately for the Vikings, they’re not in a spot where they need a quarterback. But they could find themselves in a pinch if one of the quarterbacks in this draft doesn’t pan out.
Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud are the closest prospects to a “sure thing” in this draft. But as we saw with the Jets, having a high pick doesn’t guarantee that you’ll have a future Hall of Famer under center. With teams calling the Arizona Cardinals for the third-overall pick, it’s also important not to repeat what the 49ers did in their pursuit of Lance.
The rest of the quarterback class is filled with uncertainty. Richardson is a freak athlete but his status as a project could have him becoming the next version of Lance. Will Levis is a strong-armed quarterback with an iron stomach, but his accuracy issues could have him coming up short of expectations. Even Hendon Hooker, who has been rising up draft boards, could be a forced pick due to his advanced age and his own status as a project quarterback.
The fact that any of these guys could also be All-Pros illustrates the risk of taking a quarterback. But the Vikings are trying to avoid a situation where they need to take a QB, which could leave them tabling this discussion for next offseason.
If they do that, there are several avenues they could take.
The most obvious one is to reach another extension with Cousins. He did a lot of good things in his first year under O’Connell, tying an NFL record with eight fourth-quarter comebacks and increasing his presence as a team leader. But his age and his deteriorating arm strength are why the Vikings are looking into this quarterback class.
If the Vikings can’t find his successor in this draft, they could go back to the negotiation table with Cousins next offseason if he lives up to his track record. If he goes in the tank or feels slighted that he didn’t get an extension this offseason, Minnesota may have to look into finding a bridge quarterback.
That’s a scary thought for Vikings fans who have watched Josh Freeman, Tarvaris Jackson, and Christian Ponder start games for them over the past 15 years. It’s even more terrifying considering six teams used bridge quarterbacks last season, with the Seattle Seahawks being the only team to make the playoffs.
Despite the results, the Seahawks are an interesting case study. Geno Smith wasn’t their ideal choice heading into the season but he played his way into the role thanks to the infrastructure around him. With Tyler Lockett, D.K. Metcalf, and Kenneth Walker as his supporting cast, Smith kept the Seahawks afloat and even earned a raise designed for him to groom Seattle’s next franchise quarterback.
It’s also important to note that this was the blueprint of success for one of the most successful coaches in Vikings history.
Dennis Green rode the quarterback carousel for a decade, starting Sean Salisbury, Rich Gannon, Jim McMahon, Brad Johnson, Warren Moon, Randall Cunningham, and Jeff George. With Cris Carter, Jake Reed, Robert Smith, and one of the NFL’s best offensive lines, Green went 81-47 – including a 15-1 record with Cunningham in 1998 – before drafting Daunte Culpepper in 1999.
Looking at the Vikings, you could argue they have the same infrastructure to elevate a bridge quarterback. Justin Jefferson is one of the top receivers in the NFL. T.J. Hockenson is a reliable secondary weapon. Christian Darrisaw is there to protect the blindside. The Vikings can use their resources to improve their receiver group, get younger in the backfield, and fix one of the league’s worst defenses.
Such a strategy may not turn the Vikings into immediate Super Bowl contenders but would fulfill the Wilfs’ mandate of remaining “super competitive.” That’s especially important considering Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell are heading into the second year of four-year contracts.
This shouldn’t discourage Minnesota from taking a quarterback in this year’s draft, but they also shouldn’t feel like their job depends on finding their franchise quarterback right now. If the Vikings find their guy, they should go get him. If not, they should bide their time until the right one comes along.
