Nightmare NFL Draft scenario for Vikings confirmed as a possibility

Ever since Kirk Cousins decided to sign a contract with the Atlanta Falcons earlier this offseason, the intentions of the Minnesota Vikings heading into the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft have been extremely obvious.

The Vikings want one of the top quarterback prospects in this year's draft and they're willing to do almost anything to land one.

However, a recent report has laid out a different scenario for Minnesota if they are unable to trade up in the first round of the 2024 draft. It's a scenario that still results in the Vikings drafting a quarterback this week, but it's not the passing prospect that many have had in mind for the purple and gold.

Recent report sets up a possible nightmare scenario for the Minnesota Vikings in the 2024 NFL Draft

For the last few weeks, many of the reports and rumors have connected Minnesota to former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye and former Michigan signal-caller J.J. McCarthy. In order to land one of these top passing prospects, the Vikings will likely have to trade up in the first round of this year's NFL Draft.

There's a chance that Minnesota is unable to figure out a deal to move up in the opening round, and if Maye ends up getting selected by the New England Patriots with the No. 3 overall pick, Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson recently shared the following about what the Vikings might end up doing in response.

"A very well-connected league source told Yahoo Sports they firmly believe that if the Patriots take Maye, the Vikings are comfortable standing down in trade talks and using one of their two first-round picks — either No. 11 or No. 23 — to select Oregon quarterback Bo Nix."

Now, it's possible that Bo Nix could turn out to be a very solid quarterback in the NFL. However, there's a reason why he's ranked as the fifth or sixth-best passing prospect in the 2024 draft pool.

Nix was very accurate as Oregon's starting signal-caller last season and that is a huge trait that Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell likes to have in his offense's starting quarterback. But Nix's accuracy was also a bit deceiving in 2023, as he completed a very high number of short passes without a ton of difficulty.

Nix is also already 24-years-old, which is three years older than Maye and McCarthy. Being an older quarterback in the draft typically isn't a positive attribute (see Kenny Pickett).

One of the few reasons to still remain optimistic about the Vikings if they end up settling for Nix is that he will be in a good situation with O'Connell leading the offense, and he'll have plenty of weapons to throw to like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson.

Still, Minnesota being winding up with Nix after missing out on Maye and McCarthy would likely be significantly disappointing for a number of Vikings fans.

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