Adofo-Mensah, O'Connell Address the Idea of the Vikings Drafting a Quarterback

At this point, it feels like a question of which day the Vikings take a quarterback in this month's NFL draft, rather than if they do so at all.

Coming off a 13-win season that ended in the first round, the Vikings have needs at cornerback, wide receiver, and several other spots on their roster. But as of late, it seems like all anyone can talk about is the quarterback position. KSTP insider Darren Wolfson said on SKOR North this week that he believes the Vikings have done more work on this quarterback class than any year in a long time.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell has said on multiple occasions that he dives into the quarterback class every year, going back to his days as an assistant coach. The Vikings' current situation at the most important position in sports seemingly makes that process even more critical this year. Kirk Cousins turns 35 this summer, is under contract for just one more season, and notably has not been extended by Minnesota's front office.

Cousins will be the Vikings' starter this season, barring a stunning trade. That means they don't need to add a quarterback this year. But the idea of drafting a quarterback now and letting that player learn and develop under Cousins for a year is appealing to the Vikings. That much was confirmed on Thursday in a joint press conference held by O'Connell and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

"We talk about that all the time," Adofo-Mensah said. "I don’t know that's there's one right answer, to be honest. Ideally, you probably would want to have a year to have the person in the building or something like that, but I don’t know that that's necessary. It just depends on the player, depends on all those things. But I will say this: The most important thing, we believe, in evaluating that position is understanding the different aspects of the game that that person succeeds at to give their value. And (Kevin and I) have to be on the same page as to what that is and how we are going to use that person. That is how you start and give yourself a chance to succeed. Everything else after that, I believe, is secondary."

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The Vikings' infrastructure could make them a great landing spot for a rookie quarterback this year. That player would have no pressure to play right away, instead soaking up as much as possible from Cousins and O'Connell and others in the building while getting accustomed to the NFL. The Vikings also have star pass-catchers in Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson and a pair of long-term building blocks at offensive tackle in Christian Darrisaw and Brian O'Neill.

O'Connell agrees that the ideal scenario is to give a quarterback a year to develop, but made sure to note that it can't just be any quarterback.

"I don’t think you sacrifice it being the right player," he said. "Regardless of the when, the where, the why, the how, you can’t sacrifice that. You have to have ultra belief and connection on making that decision because it is such an important decision."

The Vikings are in a good spot as they head into the second season of the Adofo-Mensah/O'Connell era. They just need to figure out their plan at quarterback for 2024 and beyond. It could still be Cousins. It could be someone they bring in next offseason. Or it could be someone they draft this year.

"Quarterback's the most important position in our sport," Adofo-Mensah said. "These aren’t things you just kind of decide in the moment. You have to have plans, you have to have strategies, you have to have different ways of getting to that answer. So we’ve had these conversations. They're ongoing. There's lots of different avenues in terms of addressing that position. I wouldn’t necessarily box us into just one. We do know that it’s the most important position in this sport and we’ll treat it with that kind of importance."

As for who the Vikings could draft — well, that's a little more complicated. Holding the 23rd pick, they'd have to trade up to land one of the top four passers in this class. Could they move up all the way to No. 3 to land someone like Anthony Richardson or Will Levis? That seems unlikely. If Levis starts to fall, maybe they wouldn't have to go up quite that high. At 23, Tennessee's Hendon Hooker is the oft-discussed option who would come with plenty of upside and plenty of questions.

One of the primary criticisms of Hooker is that he played in a gimmicky offense without many similarities to an NFL system. O'Connell was asked about evaluating QBs coming from different systems — the question wasn't about Hooker directly, although it might as well have been — and how they'd translate to what the Vikings do on offense.

"Playing the position, you have to have things and traits you look for and the things you think can carry over," O'Connell said. "Things like accuracy, things like toughness, things like having the ability to process and see the whole field and read with your feet and eyes. Those things translate. The guys that sometimes naturally do it jump off the tape, whether they’re in spread systems or more pro-style systems. But then you can find it. You can find those subtle snaps where guys do things they may not even know they were doing in the moment that I think translate."

If they don't take a QB in the first, the Vikings could take a Day 2 or 3 shot on someone in the jumbled next tier, which includes players like Tanner McKee, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Jake Haener, Jaren Hall, Aidan O'Connell, and Clayton Tune. Even though only a handful of current starting quarterbacks — including Cousins, Dak Prescott, and Russell Wilson — were taken outside of the top two rounds, the upside still makes it worth it.

There's a lot to look forward to with the draft coming up in roughly two weeks. What the Vikings do at the quarterback position is right near the top of that list.

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