Minnesota Vikings Rumors: High interest in Zach Mettenberger
LSU Tigers quarterback Zach Mettenberger (8) reacts after throwing a touchdown. Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Vikings had a heavy presence at the LSU Tigers pro day, as they watched Zach Mettenberger prove his full recovery from an ACL tear by throwing many passes yesterday. ESPN NFL Nation’s Ben Goessling reports that the Vikings “are believed to be high” on Mettenberger, and he added that the signal-caller dined with four team officials following his pro day workout. Goessling reports that Mettenberger “seemed to click well with” Norv Turner, as the Vikings offensive coordinator was telling the QB routes he should throw during the end of his workout.
Mettenberger has received significant interest from the Vikings, and it will be interesting to see if they like him enough to take him and make him their franchise quarterback. It would be a big risk to hand the keys of the franchise to him, but they might also view the other quarterbacks in this class, especially Johnny Manziel, as risks. Mettenberger still needs to become more accurate and develop more consistent decision-making, but he made huge strides last year at LSU under Cam Cameron. If he joins the Vikings, then he would still have excellent players around him in Adrian Peterson, Greg Jennings, Kyle Rudolph, and Cordarrelle Patterson after having Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, and workhorse back Jeremy Hill around him at LSU.
If the Vikings do take Mettenberger, then they would wait until the second round after selecting an impact player on defense in the first. There is no doubt that Mettenberger has excellent arm strength and the arm talent to be a franchise quarterback, but I think Teddy Bridgewater and Derek Carr are better options for them. I have Mettenberger behind the “big four” QBs in this class, but the Vikings could end up with a nice deal if he pans out in the second round and they are able to get a good return on defense with the eighth overall pick. It’s risky to bank on Mettenberger, especially if Norv isn’t up to the task- at least he was very excited to work with the strong-armed passer.