The Minnesota Vikings acquired a second first-round pick earlier this offseason from the Houston Texans, but they still might not be able to land their QB of the future this year. We're in the "smoke screen" part of the offseason, where teams don't want to tip their own hands on what they plan on doing in the NFL Draft.
For example, back during the 2021 NFL Draft cycle, the Denver Broncos were continuously connected to a top QB, as they were picking ninth overall. When their pick came, both Justin Fields and Mac Jones were still on the board, but they opted for Patrick Surtain II, who they hardly talked to at all during the draft cycle.
Teams truly don't want to give anything away during the draft cycle, but this blurb from Kevin Seifert of ESPN does open things up a bit as it pertains to the QB class:
"On the one hand, they've made deep plans to evaluate the top prospects via private workouts and/or visits, and they formed the outlines of a structure focused on developing a rookie quarterback. On the other, they're preparing for the possibility of riding with offseason free agent addition Sam Darnold in 2024 and then regrouping with either a quarterback drafted with a lower pick or perhaps a look ahead to the 2025 class."Kevin Seifert, ESPN
It looks like the Vikings might be keeping their options open with the QB spot for 2024 and beyond. They signed Sam Darnold to a one-year deal, and Darnold has actually played well in his limited action over the last couple of seasons. He's still young, so there might be some upside there as a stopgap starter.
However, with Minnesota acquiring the 23rd overall pick from Houston, most of us probably assumed that they were going to make a huge move up the draft board, but it seems like they're also open to riding it out with Darnold in 2024. Now yes, I did just get done saying how this is smoke screen season, so maybe the Vikings are going to draft a QB in the first-round no matter what, but it is interesting to think that they miss out on one and perhaps look to 2025.
And it gets even more interesting when you look at how weak the 2025 QB class is at this point. That could force the Vikings to get even more aggressive in trying to draft one in this year's NFL Draft. Will Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah be able to land his guy this year?