Kevin O'Connell lays out 'non-negotiables' for prospect quarterbacks

Vikings head coach and GM are sitting down with top prospects this week in Indy

Author:
Matthew Coller of Purple Insider
Publish date:
Feb 29, 2024 8:33 AM EST

INDIANAPOLIS — Kevin O’Connell has not been shy about saying that he wants Kirk Cousins back. He said it during the season, he said it at the end-of-season press conference, he said it at the podium at the NFL Combine on Tuesday and reiterated it again during a sit-down interview with beat reporters on Wednesday. But he is also aware that there is a possibility that Cousins could receive an offer he can’t refuse and will ultimately land elsewhere. With that in mind, O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah are sitting down with QB prospects in Indy amidst a draft class that has as many as five projected first round picks by some analysts.

How does O’Connell approach those short meetings with players? He explained that he is looking for a few things off that bat that will be fundamental to a QB’s success.

“We can answer some important questions even within 15 minutes as a baseline level of, do they love football? Are they smart?” O’Connell said. “The toughness should show up on their tape but you can also feel it when you talk to somebody, real authentic grit and you get that feeling sometimes when these guys walk out that it was real authentic.”

Adofo-Mensah said that film can only provide so many answers when it comes to quarterback play. They can see that certain passes were completed or missed and surmise certain things based on general scheme knowledge but oftentimes they are looking for a deeper understanding of what happened within the context of the prospect’s team and scheme and meetings help fill in those gaps.

“You don’t know the ‘why’ behind it…coming here to talk to them, how many guys did we feel that filled in some of the gaps for us and that was so valuable,” Adofo-Mensah said.

“And they don’t always do that,” O’Connell added. “It doesn’t always happen like that.”

Last year the Vikings were put into a position for the first time in the KAM-KOC tenure to play without Cousins and it was a challenge during the second half of the season to shape the offense to Josh Dobbs, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall. Asked whether he would need a particular type of quarterback in the draft should Cousins leave or if he would be able to shift the scheme to his young QB’s strengths, O’Connell explained that last year it was difficult to make too many changes for the 10 other players on the field mid-season but with a new QB they would have all offseason to mold to that player’s needs, strengths and weaknesses.

“When you start talking about some of the other traits that may help make their job easier from an athleticism standpoint or an arm strength standpoint or some of those factors and then we will attempt to build the best possible offense for our team but I believe the driving factor behind those decisions are quarterback first, O-line second of how nuts and bolts of how you put it together,” O’Connell said.

While the different potential quarterbacks have a wide range of traits and experiences — from Jayden Daniels’ prolific running and deep passing to Drake Maye’s big arm to JJ McCarthy’s upside to Bo Nix’s 61 college starts — there are a few things that O’Connell will not waver on. He laid out what he called “non-negotiables” on Wednesday:

“Any NFL quarterback who is going to sustain a long career in this league has to be accurate,” O’Connell said. “They have to be able to process information, they have to have a certain baseline level of toughness to play the position because we ask them to do not only mentally hard things but it’s a physically hard position with what happens each Sunday.”

How many of the QBs in this draft might meet KOC’s criteria? How much will that change in Indy? That’s hard to say but it does appear the Vikings’ brass has been intrigued by the next wave during their week at the Combine.

“We have been paying attention to this class for a couple years and it was good to meet them in person and see a lot of the stuff we saw [on tape] was true and that’s not always the case,” Adofo-Mensah continued. “We thought they were really bright.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES

— The Vikings hired former NFL QB Josh McCown as their quarterbacks coach. One of the factors that drew O’Connell to the ex-journeyman is his experience in different types of circumstances within a quarterback room.

“He has an unbelievable wealth of knowledge and knowledge of quarterback rooms and the dynamics of different rooms and relationships involved there and actual quarterback play…and a foundation of understanding what we are trying to get done on offense and being able to translate it in whatever language that particular player needs,” O’Connell said. “Being able to understand that you might have three guys or more in that room in different spectrums of the process. I see him having a wildly bright future in this league.”

— The NFL Players Association released its annual players survey and the Vikings crushed it for the second straight year, finishing overall only to the Miami Dolphins. Kevin O’Connell received A+ grades from players, the highest mark of any coach in the NFL.

“I think it means guys are responding to my style, being authentic, challenging them to be the best versions of themselves,” O’Connell said. “Culture wise what we have built over two years, you envision that as being something that can sustain within our locker room.”

— The only area in the NFLPA survey where the Vikings did not receive top grades was the training staff — where they did perform well last year. Recently the team made a change to move on from trainer Uriah Myrie.

“There were some things in the dialogue that I have routinely with our players that I felt fell below the line of the standards that we try to set,” O’Connell said of the move.

— Browns GM Andrew Berry said that the Browns and Vikings will hold joint practices in Cleveland this year.

“Have that going-to-camp feel and going away as a team and as a group for three or four days and maximize that and the team we do it with is as important as anything and the type of team that Cleveland is and Kevin [Stefanski’s] leadership and the dialogue about how we would put it together was really exciting,” O’Connell said.

— Defensive coordinator Brian Flores had head coaching buzz during a season where he turned the defense around but teams with openings ultimately did not consider the ex-Dolphins HC. O’Connell had expected Flores to have more interest.

“I was [surprised] because I just know the high, high level football coach that he is and there was a couple days where maybe I thought there would be [requests] turned in and it just never came to fruition,” O’Connell said. “I know he loves being in Minnesota. That was not something he was actively pursuing but at the same time I was crossing my fingers because a year later looking back on it I’m so happy we were able to get him in…now to have a full offseason with him not only through the evaluation process…in the draft and free agency and our own roster… and continue to have an imprint on that defense.”