The Vikings Could Still Weasel Their Way into Drafting a Top QB
Josh Frey
|
The Minnesota Vikings are one of the teams towards the end of the first round in the 2023 NFL Draft that are rumored to at least be interested in drafting a quarterback. This theory has come up because Kirk Cousins is set to enter the final year of his contract in 2023, and there are even rumors that Cousins could be traded at some point in the offseason.
The one pitfall with this theory is that many folks expect the first-round QBs to be a hot commodity early on in the draft, thus forcing the Vikings to either give up a king’s ransom in draft capital to pick one, or they can wait until the middle rounds and select a project QB there.
However, apparently there is a chance that the Vikings could still weasel their way into landing one of the top quarterbacks in the class. If recent reports are to be believed, there is a chance that Florida QB Anthony Richardson could be the QB to tumble down the board on draft night.
ESPN’s draft analyst Todd McShay believes Richardson will be available later than anyone expects as he suggested during an appearance on The Ryan Russillo Podcast saying, “It will not surprise me at all if we get to pick 12 and [Richardson] is still on the board.”
The 12th pick is significant because it is the Houston Texans second pick within the first round, and they apparently aren’t as sold on taking a quarterback with the second overall pick, particularly if Bryce Young goes first overall to the Carolina Panthers.
Initially, it seemed like if the Vikings were going to try and land a quarterback, they would have to find a way to get into the top 10, and if they wanted anything other than the leftovers, a trade with Arizona at No. 3 seemed mandatory.
However, if this theory were to play out and Richardson were to begin falling, that price tag likely would drop significantly, especially if he were to make it past the Texans at No. 12.
In all, there is no way of knowing for sure what will happen on draft night, but the idea of moving a future first and another Day 2 pick in order to select Richardson is a very intriguing one.
Just a few years ago in 2017, the Kansas City Chiefs traded with the Buffalo Bills to move up from No. 27 to No. 10 and select Patrick Mahomes. In order to swing that trade, they sent No. 27, a future first rounder, and a third rounder to the Bills.
Even with the ever-rising value of quarterbacks, particularly young quarterbacks, it is feasible that the Vikings could move as high as No. 10 to the Philadelphia Eagles spot for a similar price tag. For a prospect with ridiculous potential such as Richardson, it wouldn’t be hard to justify paying that much to land him and let him develop behind Cousins for a year.
Again, we won’t know what happens with the QBs until the draft actually begins, but this is a very interesting wrinkle being added to the mix just days before its start. We have five days of speculation left before the draft kicks off on Thursday, April 27th.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. 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.