Minnesota Vikings Need To Look At QB Position In Upcoming Draft

The 2022 season is still months away from kicking off but based on the actions in the early part of the administration of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell, it doesn’t seem like the Vikings are on their way to a championship season.

There will be plenty of optimistic talk from this point forward, and it will only ramp up as the draft approaches in late April. It’s not much different in many other cities, but the Vikings have not addressed the biggest problem area they face to this point in the offseason.

That is the quarterback position with Kirk Cousins at the helm. Vikings fans are only too familiar with the issue with their quarterback, and it is logical to think that Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell understand the problem.

They have to know what Vikings fans and Washington fans before them understand in their souls. Cousins is capable of some spectacular throws and putting fine season-long statistics on the board. But when his team faces its biggest moments on the prime-time stage or against the toughest opponents, the quarterback’s performance fails to measure up.

Cousins has been at it for 10 years in the NFL, and the last four have been with the Vikings. If things were going to turn around, the reversal of fortune would have happened by now. But O’Connell, an offensive guru with the Los Angeles Rams before he was hired by the Vikings, is loaded with confidence that he can get more out of Cousins. Adofo-Mensah projects a similar level of optimism.

At least that’s the image that both men put forth to the public. Both are smart men who have risen to important positions in the NFL, and they know that public relations has been vital to the league’s success overall. Nearly every executive and head coach keep that in mind when speaking to the media.

Some old-school coaches like Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin don’t play that game, but other established leaders like Pete Carroll and John Harbaugh have mastered it. A pair of first-year leaders like Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell are certainly going to follow that prescribed road.

Are key moves being planned behind the scenes? It’s certainly possible, but one of the primary issues is the cap hit of more than $31 million that Cousins has this year and $36 million next year.

The Vikings have the No. 12 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, and they would be wise to select a quarterback. This is not considered to be a draft that is strong at the quarterback position, but the belief here is that Kenny Pickett of Pittsburgh is the real deal and Malik Willis of Liberty also has many positive attributes.

The 6-3, 217-pound Pickett has been a known commodity for NFL scouts throughout his college career. There was some disappointment in his production prior to last year, but he had a spectacular 2021 season with 4,308 passing yards and a 42-7 TD-interception ratio.

Pickett is an extremely accurate passer, and that aspect does not change when he is on the move. He gives his receivers a great chance to get open because he will hold onto the ball until the last possible split second before he gets rid of it.

Pickett demonstrated last year that he can rise to the occasion in the most important situations. Does that mean he will demonstrate that same characteristic in the NFL? That’s the biggest issue when it comes to drafting talent.

It might be worth working the draft to get the best quarterback prospect for the Vikings’ future. They clearly need a strong backup plan, because that’s something they don’t have at this point.

ESPN’s draft expert Todd McShay has Pickett as the first quarterback to be selected in the draft by the New Orleans Saints at the No. 18 spot. Adofo-Mensah may want to play the draft game by moving down and gambling that he can select the quarterback, but it’s more likely that the Saints will try to move up. A rookie GM does not want to get aced out of the player he wants in his first draft, especially when the selection is for a quarterback.

The Vikings are not going to give away their draft gameplan at this point. They desperately need a quarterback of the future and they also need a competent backup for Cousins.

That is unless the new Vikings brain trust has a plan for the position that is being kept under wraps.

Stay tuned in as this mystery unfolds.