I’m Officially on the Kellen Mond Hype Train
Kirby O'Connor
|
As I sit here in my basement, mulling the Minnesota Vikings selections in the first two days of this NFL Draft, I can’t help coming back again and again to the name Kellen Mond. That’s right, I’m excited about the one quarterback the Vikings have taken this high since Chrsitian Ponder in 2011.
This excitement comes despite the fact that the Vikings may have also just solved their offensive line woes by selecting Christian Darrisaw, after trying to pass on him, and Wyatt Davis who had no business falling as far as he did. Fixing the offensive line would mean so much to the team in 2021. Minnesota hasn’t had better than a mediocre line since Adrian Peterson was smashing records.
If the Vikings fixed their offensive line in 2017, they should have at least been in a super bowl. If the offensive line was fixed, maybe Sam Bradford’s knees never fully disintegrate after the greatest Monday Night Football performance of his career. What I’m saying is, the offensive line has held the Vikings back far more than the quarterback position.
However that doesn’t stop me from continuing to glance up at tabs that I have open on my computer monitor. YouTube titles that read ”Kelleen Mond 2020 Texas A&M highlights” and “Kellen Mond Pro Day Highlights.” Outside of those tabs, links to Chris Simms saying he is very high on Kellen Mond. Twitter, where we have our pick of the litter of talking heads spouting praise for Spielman’s newest investment in the quarterback position.
I feel like I usually can be pretty objective and I can do that with Mond too. He’s raw and didn’t run the same offense in college as he’ll run in the pros. He needs to work on his decision making, taking too many check downs and missing out on big plays. Indecisiveness leads to inaccurate throws or sacks. Worst of all, a weak deep ball.
What really sucks is that some sources are already trying to pit Mond vs Cousins. RGIII going on a show and claiming that Kirk probably isn’t happy because Mond does exactly what Kirk doesn’t. (Perhaps RGIII is projecting a bit since Kirk Cousins was exactly what he wasn’t in Washington.) You can bet that as soon as Kirk has a bad game, a certain section of the Vikings fanbase will start yelling for Mond.
Through it all, I can’t help but be excited about the kids. He’s got problems, but he’s also got time to work through those problems. He’s not going to be the Vikings saving grace in 2021, so it would be silly to start calling for Kirk to give back his money and leave. He may not even see the field in ‘21 or ‘22. However, I think he will put in the time and effort to get to where he needs to be when it’s Kirk Cousins’ last day with the Vikings.
I am on board with Kellen Mond, but I think that train is running with a very smart route laid out by Rick Spielman and shouldn’t be rushed. When the time comes though, Mond may just be the man to hoist a Lombardi on a parade float in downtown Minneapolis.