Vikings have reportedly ‘connected with many’ 2021 quarterback prospects
By Adam Patrick
The Minnesota Vikings have reportedly expressed interest in a number of quarterbacks from the 2021 NFL Draft pool of prospects.
Barring any sort of serious injury, Kirk Cousins appears to be set to open the 2021 season as the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.
Cousins is coming off of one of his best years since entering the NFL and his current contract doesn’t expire until 2023. Some would like the Vikings to select his future replacement in the upcoming 2021 draft, but the team’s need to get back to the playoffs next season seems like something that could stand in the way of them taking a large risk by investing their top draft pick in a rookie quarterback.
If Minnesota misses the postseason again in 2021, then there’s a good chance that head coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman are shown the door. Drafting a quarterback with an early-round pick who might not even play while Zimmer and Spielman are still around doesn’t seem like a decision they would make.
Minnesota Vikings actively scouting 2021 quarterback prospects
Despite the possibility of the Vikings selecting a young passer with their top pick in the 2021 draft being low, this doesn’t mean that they won’t be considering a quarterback later on in the draft.
KSTP’s Darren Wolfson revealed on Monday that Minnesota has “connected with many,” passing prospects this offseason, including former Arkansas and Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks.
Yahoo’s Eric Edholm also shared on Monday that the Vikings are one of the teams around the league this year that have “done work,” on the 2021 quarterback class. Edholm mentioned former Northwestern passer Peyton Ramsey as someone Minnesota recently met with.
With the Vikings not re-signing Sean Mannion this year, it seems like they could be looking to find a new No. 2 quarterback in the 2021 draft.
They could also just be doing their due diligence and scouting a number of passing prospects just like they are probably doing with just about every other position group this year.
Of all the draft picks Minnesota has had since 2012 with Spielman as their general manager, only two of them have been spent on a quarterback. The Vikings’ current general manager also hasn’t used a draft selection on a new signal-caller within the first six rounds since 2014 when the team picked Teddy Bridgewater in the first round.
Will this change in a few weeks? We will just have to wait and see.