Vikings select versatile quarterback in recent 2021 mock draft
By Adam Patrick
With a mid-round pick, the Minnesota Vikings selected former Wake Forest quarterback Jamie Newman in a recent 2021 mock draft.
With the Minnesota Vikings missing the playoffs in two of their first three seasons with Kirk Cousins as their starting quarterback, some have wondered if the team should consider finding his eventual replacement in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft.
Adding more fuel to the argument about why the Vikings should draft a quarterback this year is the fact that they could be in need of a new backup behind Cousins for next season.
With Sean Mannion still unsigned, the battle for the No. 2 quarterback job will currently be between Nate Stanley and Jake Browning, two unproven passers.
Minnesota Vikings add another quarterback to their roster in recent 2021 mock draft
If Minnesota isn’t comfortable with Stanley or Browning being Cousins’ backup next season, the team could turn their attention to this year’s draft to find someone else.
In a recent 2021 mock draft shared by Pro Football Network’s Matthew Valdovinos, the Vikings decided to use one of their multiple fourth-round selections on former Wake Forest quarterback Jamie Newman.
Newman is an interesting prospect and one that multiple people like due to his potential. He’s built like a linebacker (6-foot-3, 235 pounds), which makes him harder to bring down, and he led a Wake Forest offense in 2019 that averaged more than 30 points per game.
With that Wake Forest team in 2019, he threw for 2,868 yards and 26 touchdowns while also rushing for 574 yards and another six scores.
Last year, he wound up transferring to Georgia, but he ended up opting out of the season to focus on preparing for the 2021 draft.
Newman isn’t someone that’s viewed as a guy who can come in and start right away. He might be useful in a couple of starts as a rookie if he needs to fill in for an injured starter. But his best bet is to land with a team that can let him sit back for a year or two before throwing him into the fire.
For a team like Minnesota, their current situation fits that description. Could they be the team that ends up with Newman in this year’s draft?