Klemko ‘not convinced’ Kirk Cousins is an upgrade over Case Keenum

Sports Illustrated’s Robert Klemko recently shared his thoughts on the current quarterback situation for the Minnesota Vikings.

Prior to the 2017 season with the Minnesota Vikings, quarterback Case Keenum had never thrown more than nine touchdowns in any of his five years in the NFL.

But Keenum found some magic last season with the Vikings and finished the year with 3,547 passing yards and 22 touchdowns. His performance also helped Minnesota reach the NFC Championship last season for the first time since 2009.

Despite his success last year, the Vikings still decided to move on from Keenum and not re-sign the quarterback this offseason. Instead, Minnesota went out and spent a huge chunk of change to sign free-agent signal caller Kirk Cousins.

After the Vikings big move in free agency this year, some questioned why the team didn’t just save a few bucks and stick with Keenum in 2018. Some even believe that Cousins is not the best option of the two quarterbacks.

Among those who have their doubts about Minnesota’s new signal caller is Sports Illustrated’s Robert Klemko. In a recent article of his, Klemko shared his early preseason power rankings for 2018 and the Vikings only ended up as his 12th-best team on the list.

"“12. Minnesota VikingsI’m not convinced Kirk Cousins is a such a big upgrade over Case Keenum, but he’s got one of the NFL’s best defenses at his back and a pair of stud receivers, something he never sniffed in Washington. Oh, and healthy Dalvin Cook too.” Minnesota Vikings The Viking Age 0d - 6 biggest draft steals in Minnesota Vikings history More headlines around FanSided: 1d - Former Vikings first-round pick could reportedly return to NFC North 1d - Bears analyst has extremely embarrassing Kirk Cousins take 1d - 6 Vikings who (maybe) won't make the 53-man roster in 2023 2d - Which teams could be drafting a quarterback next year? 2d - Predicting what the Vikings will do in the 2023 NFL Draft based on 2022 More News at The Viking Age"

Not convinced that Cousins is a big upgrade over Keenum? What more does Cousins have to show on the field to prove that his skills are above and beyond anything Keenum has done during his underwhelming NFL career?

The Vikings’ newest quarterback is one of two players to throw for at least 4,000 yards and 25 touchdowns in each of the last three seasons. Before 2017, Keenum had never even come close to either of those totals in a single season.

Yet for some reason, people are trying to convince themselves that Minnesota did not make the right choice when picking a quarterback this offseason.

A player’s performance in one year is not even close to being an indicator of their future success. If it were, then Robert Griffin III, Peyton Hillis, and Blair Walsh would all be future Hall of Famers.

Next: 4 reasons to be excited about Kirk Cousins

Under-ranking the Vikings on this list is fine. But saying Cousins is not a big upgrade over Keenum is just flat out wrong.