Starting Kellen Mond Would Be a Mistake
K. Joudry
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Since the news emerged that Kirk Cousins would miss the Packers game due to Covid-19, Twitter has been full of pleas to see Kellen Mond starting on Sunday Night Football.
Folks, starting Mond would be a mistake.
Being a rookie QB in the NFL is supremely difficult. Mac Jones is the exception. Something closer to Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, and/or Zach Wilson is much more normal. All of these players were more ready for the NFL than Mond, and they’ve all had significant struggles.
It makes sense that Vikings fans want to see Mond. Sean Mannion should inspire confidence in absolutely no one. His last game action for the Vikings came in the final week of the 2019 season. He went 12/21 for 126 yards while throwing two INTs and no TDs. Understandably, fans aren’t looking forward to this kind of performance on Sunday.
However, putting Kellen Mond under center would mean the Vikings are leaning on their third-round rookie to defeat the NFC’s best team on the road and on Sunday Night Football. Now add in the fact that the game will be played in remarkably cold conditions and Adam Thielen will be absent. Now add in that the iOL isn’t at full strength and that Kenny Clark is likely going to have a monstrous game. It’s easy to see how this could go poorly.
Folks, all I’m offering here is an opinion. Before the Steelers TNF game, I suggested playing Dalvin Cook was a bad move. That one aged poorly within hours. It’s entirely possible that this one will similarly age poorly if Mond gets in there and plays well. Stranger things have happened. Perhaps the rookie pulls off the miracle.
From my current vantage point, though, starting Kellen Mond would be the wrong decision even if it would be the exciting one. During the preseason, he looked overmatched against the backups to the backups. The season has given us very little reason to believe he has made significant improvements.
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