The Minnesota Vikings will make a decision that will shape their franchise on Thursday night. Minnesota is expected to trade up for a quarterback. Therefore, the choice will have a major effect, whether it fuels a dynastic run for the next decade or adds another name to the Christian Ponder list.
Nobody can deny that this year’s draft will have significant implications for the franchise, but there’s one question that Vikings fans could debate.
Is this the biggest draft in the Minnesota Vikings history?
There are a few ways to find out.
In the case of short-term magnitude, it’s hard to argue otherwise. The Vikings are entering a new era after Kirk Cousins left for the Atlanta Falcons. The new quarterback will be the player many hope will finally solve Minnesota’s inconsistent franchise history.
Only Fran Tarkenton has solved the quarterback riddle in the team’s history. The Vikings traded him to the New York Giants before he returned in 1971 to lead the Purple People Eaters to four Super Bowls.
But even in Tarkenton’s case, there wasn’t this much hype involved. Tarkenton was an original Viking. So obviously, there was no ESPN draft coverage or social media to over-analyze every decision; football wasn’t even the most popular sport in America at the time. When Tarkenton left, it was simply on to the next quarterback, again and again, before the Vikings drafted Daunte Culpepper in 1999.
Culpepper did his best to fill the franchise role, but it’s worth noting that his selection was a surprise, much the way the Vikings’ brass was shocked and delighted to see Randy Moss fall down the board the year before. The Culpepper pick even came with some controversy. It required them to pass on edge rusher Jevon Kearse just months after fans watched Minnesota’s pass rush crumble in the 1998 Divisional playoffs following John Randle’s knee injury.
Mix in the Dimitrius Underwood selection, and there wasn’t the instant backlash that would have occurred if those picks had taken place today.
The Vikings missing their pick in the 2003 draft was more comedy than anything, and the Adrian Peterson selection was exciting because of his status as a can’t-miss running back. The 2011 draft was important but strange because it occurred during a lockout. The 2015 draft is known more for its late-round gems (Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter, and Stefon Diggs) than for its first-round pick, Trae Waynes.
If you wanted to argue for the 2014 draft, it’s a real possibility. The Vikings were entering the Mike Zimmer era, one of the most successful tenures in team history behind Bud Grant in the 1970s and Dennis Green in the 1990s.
The Vikings nabbed Anthony Barr and Teddy Bridgewater in the first round. Barr became an essential part of Zimmer’s defense, while Bridgewater showed promise before a knee injury changed his career trajectory.
Since then, it’s been a lot of the same. Vikings fans showed pure joy when Laquon Treadwell fell to them in 2016 but confusion when they took Mike Hughes in 2018. Minnesota’s front office cackled when Justin Jefferson fell to them in 2020, but the rest of the league probably chuckled when the Vikings traded down to select Lewis Cine two years later.
Every first-round pick is important, but sometimes, it carries more weight. While each draft has its story, this one will define not just the next several years of the franchise but also the careers of some of Minnesota’s most important employees, on and off the field.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell are entering the third year of four-year contracts. The Vikings will probably still be around whether or not they hit it big in this draft, but their futures are uncertain if they choose the wrong quarterback.
They also have to consider Justin Jefferson‘s future. Many people seem willing to wait for a project like Drake Maye to be ready in two or three years, but is Jefferson willing to catch passes from Sam Darnold or another journeyman quarterback until the new guy is ready?
Even then, will O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah be able to jerry-rig their roster to a point where it could elevate any quarterback to get an opportunity to become a Super Bowl contender?
These are all complicating factors for a pick that the Vikings will make in a crucible. When the NFL Draft began, it was held in secrecy in a hotel conference room in New York. Now, we have a million mock drafts, squadrons of draft analysts, and a showy setup. Fans will fly to Detroit to see their team take a defensive tackle from a school they may not know.
Yes, the NFL Draft has made Detroit a destination in late April.
All of this will have the Vikings riveted in front of their televisions on Thursday night and glued to their phones throughout the week. They will pray that Adam Schefter drops a bomb that suggests the Vikings are moving into the top three or an indicator of which quarterback Minnesota prefers.
After six years in the largely predictable Cousins era, a new era has arrived. The Vikings’ upcoming draft, which may be the most important in franchise history, is likely to be one hell of a ride.
