Vikings kick Kirk Cousins out the door with top pick in early 2022 mock
By Adam Patrick
A very early 2022 mock draft has the Minnesota Vikings using their top draft pick on a young quarterback to replace Kirk Cousins.
With their first of four selections in the third round of this year’s NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings decided to take a chance on former Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond.
Some believe Mond will eventually replace Kirk Cousins as Minnesota’s starting signal-caller, while others don’t even view him as anything more than just a really good backup.
There’s certainly a possibility of Mond developing into the Vikings‘ next starting quarterback. But an early prediction of what Minnesota will do in the 2022 NFL Draft has them using their top pick on someone who would be a more definitive replacement for Cousins.
Minnesota Vikings use first pick in early 2022 mock draft on quarterback to replace Kirk Cousins
If the Vikings don’t make the playoffs in 2021, big changes could be coming to the organization. An entirely new regime could be brought in and they will likely want to remake the roster with their own guys.
If this happens, Cousins would probably be one of the first players Minnesota looked to get rid of. They could attempt to trade him in 2022 or just wait until 2023 for his contract to run out.
No matter what the decision is, the Vikings could potentially turn to the 2022 NFL Draft to find their next franchise quarterback if they don’t believe Mond is the answer. This is exactly what CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso has Minnesota doing in an early 2022 mock draft that he recently shared.
With the No. 13 pick in the first round of the 2022 draft, Trapasso has the Vikings using their selection on current Cincinnati signal-caller Desmond Ridder.
Here’s what Trapasso had to say about his decision to mock Ridder to Minnesota.
"“Ridder represents the athletic upside the Vikings have desperately needed at QB during the Kirk Cousins era. He can take off right away behind a strong Minnesota offensive line.”"
Okay, before we get into anything about Ridder, we first need to address Trapasso stating that the Vikings have a “strong” offensive line. He must believe Minnesota’s blockers are going to make great strides in 2021 because strong would not be a word anyone with working eyes would use to describe the performance of the unit last season.
But back to Ridder, he’s certainly an intriguing prospect. With a 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame, he showed some impressive development last season at Cincinnati when he completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 2,296 yards, 19 touchdowns, and six interceptions, in addition to rushing for 592 yards and 12 more scores.
He’s someone who has the potential to fly up the draft board if he puts together an excellent performance during his final season at Cincinnati.
If Minnesota were to land Ridder in the 2022 draft though, it would certainly signify the end of the Kirk Cousins era in the Twin Cities.