5 biggest myths about the Vikings plans for the 2021 NFL Draft

Minnesota won’t use an early pick on a quarterback

There’s been plenty of chatter about how the Vikings won’t use an early-round pick on a quarterback this year. That thought simply needs to go out the window.

Minnesota has yet to sign a backup this offseason, and while Sean Mannion will be available well into August, the team is definitely open to seeing what happens in the draft before they go back to their old faithful.

The Vikings could definitely use their first third-round pick on a quarterback this year. Players like Kellen Mond, Davis Mills, and Kyle Trask are some of the young passers who could still be available in the third round.

All of these guys are an upgrade in talent over Mannion and all of them can learn behind Kirk Cousins for a few seasons before competing to take over the job in 2023.

A popular myth floating around Vikings land is that they definitely won’t use their first-round pick on a quarterback. The reason for this is that Minnesota has to win now and they need that first-rounder to be someone who can contribute right away. This makes sense, but it isn’t true.

The Vikings have already vastly improved their defense this offseason. They brought in Patrick Peterson, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Mackensie Alexander in free agency, and they will be getting Danielle Hunter and Michael Pierce back on the field. These moves should result in a huge improvement for the defense.

Minnesota’s offensive line was terrible a season ago and the team still had one of the top offenses in the NFL. They can easily afford to go with a quarterback in the first round and let him learn behind Cousins.

So if, for some reason, Trey Lance or Justin Fields falls to the Vikings in the first round of this year’s draft, they shouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.