Quarterback falls to Vikings in recent 2021 mock draft
By Adam Patrick
Former North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance winds up with the Minnesota Vikings in a recent 2021 mock draft.
Since he spent his college career less than 250 miles away from the Minnesota Vikings home stadium, former North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance will probably be linked to the purple and gold multiple times leading up to the 2021 NFL Draft.
Most recently, Lance ended up with the Vikings in a 2021 mock draft published by Pro Football Network’s AJ Schulte.
With the No. 14 pick in next year’s draft, Schulte has Minnesota sending out the signal that their time with Kirk Cousins will likely be ending sooner than later.
What would happen if the Minnesota Vikings drafted Trey Lance?
During his time at North Dakota State, Lance put together some impressive numbers. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 226 pounds, the Marshall, Minnesota native threw for 2,947 yards, 30 touchdowns, and just one interception while also rushing for 1,325 yards and 18 more scores in his college career.
Schulte believes the Vikings are an “ideal situation,” for Lance since he can sit for a season or two behind Cousins before the team eventually transitions him to be their starting quarterback.
Due to the way in which Cousins‘ contract is structured, Minnesota can afford to draft a more raw signal-caller that needs some fine-tuning like Lance. Plenty of the top quarterbacks in the history of the NFL spent at least a year on the bench before moving into the starting lineup including Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers.
While Lance could potentially be a great fit with the Vikings, there’s still a legitimate chance that the former North Dakota State passer won’t be on the draft board when it comes time for Minnesota to make their first selection next year.
There are plenty of teams currently ahead of the Vikings in the draft order including the Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, and San Francisco 49ers that could be interested in adding Lance with their first-round pick in 2021.
If Minnesota truly feels like Lance is someone they need to draft, however, they can always put together a trade package to move up and get their guy. Vikings general manager Rick Spielman has been known to make a few draft trades during his tenure with the team, so coming up with an offer doesn’t seem like it would be too difficult.