Vikings Predicted to Grab a QB in the Draft
The Minnesota Vikings have yet to sign a QB2 for the upcoming season. Guys like Joe Flacco and Ryan Tannehill remain in the mix, but there is another way to find a new backup passer. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could address the vacancy in the draft.
Vikings Predicted to Grab a QB in the Draft
Rick Spielman spent a third-rounder for Kellen Mond in 2021. Two years later, Adofo-Mensah used a fifth-rounder to acquire Jaren Hall and J.J. McCarthy, of course, was selected with the tenth overall pick a year ago.
This time, Ohio State’s Will Howard should get a draft-day call from Minnesota, says ESPN’s Ben Solak. He assembled a list of 12 teams that should draft one on April 24th and the following two days, and the Vikings use pick 187 for the national champion.
“Ideally, the Vikings go QB earlier in this draft — but Howard in Round 6 is a pretty square deal,” Solak wrote. “He had 43 starts over four seasons at Kansas State and a national championship campaign with Ohio State. With the Buckeyes, he looked the part of a poised and trustworthy veteran. I like Howard’s mobility, but he isn’t a one-read-and-scramble escape artist in the pocket. He’ll sit in there, bounce through progressions and look for the correct throw. He can break a tackle or two as well; he’s big and doesn’t shy away from contact.”
Howard collected 48 touchdowns through four seasons at Kansas State. In 2024, he transferred to Ohio State, where he guided the Buckeyes to a title with 35 touchdown passes. He operated the stacked offense at a pretty high level. In his entire college career, he also rushed for 1,147 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Solak continued, “Howard can access all the levels of the field and is generally safe with the football, but he doesn’t see it fast and will get hoodwinked by coverage rotations at the snap. He needs an offense like the one Kevin O’Connell runs, as it protects the quarterback from high processing demands. At Ohio State, Howard picked his poison on isolation routes with elite college receivers in Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka. In Minnesota, he could do the same with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.”
There’s no doubt about it: Minnesota’s offense is stacked, too. The Vikings employ Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison on the outside, with T.J. Hockenson as a pass-catching option on the inside. Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones should be a decent running back duo, and the offense line has been overhauled this offseason.
That talent, paired with Kevin O’Connell calling the shots, should make any quarterback look half-decent in that offense.
Howard doesn’t offer any elite physical tools, but he brings experience and poise to the QB room and can run an offense. Solak’s ceiling for Howard is one of the better QB2s in the NFL, “If he hits, I could see Howard having a Jacoby Brissett-like career in the NFL. He might even get the designated sneaker role in Minnesota behind McCarthy!”
At this point, the Vikings only have J.J. McCarthy and Brett Rypien under contract. McCarthy, coming off his season-ending knee injury, is expected to be the starting signal-caller in the 2025 season and beyond. Rypien spent all of last season as the QB3.
Howard is projected to be a day-three draft choice. If the Vikings aren’t happy with the options on the free agency market, Howard could be a solid fit as he brings many characteristics a long-time NFL backup should have.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.