3 reasons why the Vikings are the perfect spot for a rookie quarterback in 2024
By Luke Parrish
Reason No. 2
Vikings have successful models to follow
As I mentioned, the Jaguars and Bengals did everything right when building their rosters around a young quarterback. Jacksonville may have done a better job than anyone in recent memory, given the stakes of Trevor Lawrence and what he could - and did - become.
Jacksonville went and got veteran receivers like Marvin Jones and Zay Jones to pair with their new quarterback, but they also splashed on tight end Evan Engram, guard Brandon Scherff, and even Calvin Ridley, who they traded for last year, but he did not play with them until this season.
Jacksonville also went out and drafted Lawrence's college teammate Travis Etienne to be his running back, and that seemed to make his jump to the NFL so much easier. He had a familiar face to run his offense with, and that helped Jacksonville turn the corner as a franchise.
Cincinnati had a similar approach, adding Tee Higgins in the same draft as Burrow and then adding Ja'Marr Chase the following year to reunite him with Burrow and get that familiar weapon in the building.
The Chiefs had Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill to ease Patrick Mahomes into his illustrious career. Miami went out and added Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill, and that revitalized Tua Tagovailoa's career, and he looks like the real deal.
For Minnesota, they already have the pieces in place for a quarterback to succeed and would not need to go and add weapons later on. He gets to step right in dial up shots to arguably the best receiving room in the league.