Could Nate Stanley be the Vikings new backup quarterback?

For the first time since 2014, the Minnesota Vikings spent a pick in the NFL Draft on a quarterback when they selected former Iowa signal-caller, Nate Stanley, last weekend.

Among their obnoxious amount of selections in this year’s NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings decided to use one of their four seventh-round picks on former Iowa quarterback, Nate Stanley.

This might not really be that significant to some people, but Stanley is actually the first quarterback the Vikings have used a draft pick on since 2014 when they selected Teddy Bridgewater in the first round.

So for Minnesota to actually use a pick on Stanley, it gives the impression that they have a good amount of interest in him potentially earning a role on their roster.

During his time at Iowa, the Vikings newest quarterback didn’t put up monster numbers, but his performance was respectable. In 2017 and 2018, Stanley finished his season with 26 touchdown passes, but he saw this amount drop to just 16 last year.

At 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, he has the size that most NFL teams aspire their quarterbacks to have. Believe it or not, some of Stanley’s testing numbers from this year’s NFL Scouting Combine are comparable to current Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.

Now, no one is expecting Minnesota’s seventh-round pick to develop into anything close to what Ryan has been able to become. But Stanley could be in the running for the Vikings backup job behind Kirk Cousins next season at the very least.

His competition for the role is Sean Mannion and Jake Browning. Mannion has never displayed anything on the field that has made people feel comfortable about him taking over for Cousins for a few games if needed and Browning has yet to take an NFL snap since he entered the league last year.

So while some might write off the possibility of Stanley actually winning Minnesota’s No. 2 quarterback job, who he’s battling should definitely be taken into account.

The Vikings felt good enough about the former Iowa passer to use a draft pick on him. Now it’s up to Stanley to go out and prove to Minnesota that they didn’t waste their selection.