ESPN Believes the Vikings Will Draft a QB at No. 23
Josh Frey
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There are oodles of opportunity for the Minnesota Vikings at the 23rd overall pick if you look around at all the options. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah finds himself in an interesting position where he can trade up to pursue a QB of the future, stay put and select the ‘best player available’, or they could even trade down to enlarge their currently minimal amount of draft capital.
However, if Minnesota were to ‘stick and pick’ and No. CB 23, it appears that ESPN believes the Vikings will draft a QB with that pick. According to the media giant’s draft analytics system, the prospect with the best chance to find himself in a Vikings uniform next season is none other than Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker.
Here are the top-five prospects listed by the analytics that could find landing spots with the Vikings this month:
- QB Hendon Hooker, Tennessee (11%)
- CB Deonte Banks, Maryland (8.5%)
- WR Jordan Addison, USC (8%)
- WR Zay Flowers, Boston College (7.5%)
- DL Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh (6.5%)
Interestingly, CB Emmanuel Forbes out of Mississippi State comes in at 16th on this list, smacked between the top two running backs in this class, Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson, despite Mel Kiper sending him to the Vikings in his latest mock draft. He has just under a 3% chance of finding his way to Minnesota, according to these metrics.
Meanwhile, this projection tracks much closer with Todd McShay’s recent mock, which had the Vikings selecting Hooker with that 23rd overall pick. Here is what McShay had to say of the selection at the time:
The Vikings have quietly been putting in some work on this QB class. Despite the team’s 13-win season, Kirk Cousins was just 23rd in QBR at 49.9. Plus, he’s turning 35 this summer and will be entering the final year of his deal. Sitting behind Cousins for a year to learn the pro game and fully recover from a torn ACL could be the perfect setup for Hooker, who led the nation in QBR last season before the injury (89.5).
Hooker certainly was one of the most productive quarterbacks in the country last season, and had he not suffered his torn ACL, he very well could have snatched a Heisman trophy and helped the Volunteers compete for a national championship.
That being said, there are concerns with Hooker as a prospect as he gets closer to the NFL. Firstly, he is going to be a 25-year-old rookie, potentially limiting his prime in the NFL whereas a younger prospect could be great for longer. He also played with one of the more talented offensive groups in the country with receivers Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman, who each look like top-50 picks in this spring’s draft.
If Hooker can become better at processing through his reads in the NFL, he has the potential to be a viable starting QB. This is a task that many have been unable to accomplish though, and seeing as he will be starting his journey at 25, the question remains as to how much growth he can actually have once he reaches the NFL.
Regardless, having a wide receiver like Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson at tight end, offensive tackles such as Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, as well as a former NFL QB at head coach in Kevin O’Connell, the infrastructure is in place for the Vikings to develop a young quarterback. Only time will tell if that quarterback will be Hooker, someone else in the 2023 Draft, or if we will have to wait until 2024.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.