During the last few weeks, Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy have arguably been the two quarterback prospects that have been linked to the Minnesota Vikings the most.
Maye and McCarthy still might be at the top of the Vikings' list of passing prospects they could select in this year's NFL Draft, but the team is apparently still making sure they look at some of the other young signal-callers as well.
According to Bleacher Report's Jordan Schultz on Monday, Minnesota held a private workout with former University of Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. last week after the young passer's Pro Day last Thursday.
Is Michael Penix Jr. a realistic option for the Minnesota Vikings in the 2024 NFL Draft?
With Minnesota currently having picks No. 11 and No. 23 in the first round of this year's NFL Draft, most have assumed they will use the selections in some sort of trade package to move up and land someone like Maye or McCarthy.
But the Vikings are smart enough to know that things don't always go according to plan (especially when it comes to their franchise), so there might be a scenario in which they're unable to trade up in the opening round of this year's draft.
If this ends up being the case, then adding a quarterback like Penix or Bo Nix with one of their first-round picks would become a realistic possibility for Minnesota in a few weeks.
Penix is one of the most intriguing passing prospects in the entire 2024 draft pool. He's got the arm talent to make almost any throw out on the field, but he suffered multiple significant injuries during his college career that could cause NFL teams to stay away during this year's draft.
It doesn't seem like the Vikings are turned off by Penix's injury history, as they likely wouldn't waste their time holding a private workout with the young quarterback if they didn't have some legitimate interest in drafting him this year.
Still, the work put into evaluating Penix appears to be Minnesota just doing their due diligence, and making sure they have a backup plan if they end up failing to trade up in the 2024 draft at the end of the month.
Some might disappointed if the Vikings were unable to land Maye or McCarthy this year, but Penix would still be a great consolation prize, and there's even a chance that he could turn out to be better than almost any other quarterback prospect in the 2024 draft pool.
Minnesota ending up with Penix would also likely mean that they would get to hold onto both of their first-round picks in this year's draft and their first-round selection in 2025.
In the long run, the Vikings missing out on Maye or McCarthy and ending up with Penix could actually prove to be more beneficial for the franchise, as they would have more valuable draft assets to improve their entire roster sooner rather than later.