Currently in possession of two first-round picks in this year's NFL Draft, many expect the Minnesota Vikings to do whatever they can to move up in the opening round to land one of the top 2024 quarterback prospects.
If the Vikings believe they will need to acquire one of the first five selections in order to get one of the top signal-callers in this year's draft, then they will likely have to part with both of their current first-round picks.
Some don't have a problem with Minnesota making a move like this if it ultimately results in the team ending up with the franchise's next great quarterback. However, others, like former Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, think it might be a better idea for the team to just hold onto their pair of first-round selections and add a new signal-caller during a later round of this year's draft.
Kyle Rudolph suggests the Minnesota Vikings select QB Joe Milton in the 2024 NFL Draft
During an appearance on the "Up & Adams" show on Monday, Rudolph said the following about what he believes Minnesota should do during the upcoming NFL Draft when it comes to adding a new quarterback.
"I see, after watching the Combine, a guy like Joe Milton from Tennessee. just super, freak potential athleticism you're not going to have to mortgage your future to get a guy like that.
... need good players right now who can come in . Trading your two first-round picks to ultimately take a quarterback who might not play right away, I don't think that's the answer."
So Rudolph thinks the Vikings are better off using their two 2024 first-round picks on players who could potentially play right away next season instead of trading up for a quarterback because that quarterback might not be able to play immediately as a rookie.
Is the former Minnesota tight end unfamiliar with some of the greatest passers in the history of the NFL and how most of them sat on the bench for the majority of their rookie seasons, if not the entire year?
Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Drew Brees, and Joe Montana all either sat on the sidelines during the entirety of their first year in the league or didn't start until midway through their rookie seasons.
All of these quarterbacks are either in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, or they are guaranteed to be future inductees. But if it were up to Rudolph, he wouldn't have drafted any of them because they wouldn't have been able to play right away.
Then, on top of all of this, he suggests Joe Milton as the guy the Vikings should go after in this year's draft.
PFF currently has Milton as the 11th-ranked quarterback prospect in the 2024 draft pool and most of the recent mock drafts have him coming off of the board in the fifth round or later.
Sure, he can chuck the ball down the field further than most of the passing prospects available in this year's draft, but he has a number of weaknesses that could prevent him from being successful in the NFL, including a lack of accuracy, which would make him a terrible fit for Minnesota's offense.
If the Vikings still had Kirk Cousins on their roster for another few seasons, then taking a chance on Milton on Day 3 of the draft would be fine.
But Cousins isn't in Minnesota anymore, so to suggest that they should pass up on the opportunity to trade up and draft a potential franchise quarterback and just select Milton with a late-round pick instead is absolutey insane.