ESPN Makes Surprising Predictions For Vikings' 2024 QB Room

There are a bunch of different ways the Vikings could go at the quarterback position this offseason. Right now, it's just Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall under contract, so they need to add at least one starting-caliber player to that room (maybe two). Bring Kirk Cousins back or sign a different veteran? Draft a rookie? Do both?

ESPN's Seth Walder recently made his predictions for every team's starting quarterback in 2024. He believes Cousins is going to sign with the Falcons, which makes plenty of sense. For the Vikings, he went with signing Russell Wilson as the starter, then drafting Oregon's Bo Nix at No. 11 to be his backup for a year before presumably taking the reins.

Let's call this Wilson plus Oregon's Bo Nix. Cousins might end up back in Minnesota, but I could see the Vikings balking at giving him a multiyear guaranteed contract. If he's out of the picture, Wilson is probably the next-best short-term solution. (I'm assuming the Bears wouldn't deal Justin Fields inside their division.) But don't be surprised if the Vikings go after multiple players to fill Cousins' void. If they do, acquiring Wilson and drafting a QB at No. 11 makes the most sense.

Of all the ways the Vikings could build their QB room this offseason, this one might be the hardest to sell to fans. From what I've seen (check the replies here), there isn't much interest in the Wilson idea, even if it would be for the veteran minimum. And Nix, for as prolific as he was over the last two seasons, is almost certainly the least exciting of the six potential first-round quarterbacks. Some of that is what people remember of him from Auburn, but some is because he's an older prospect who played in an Oregon offense that gave him tons of easy reads. Taking him in the second round would be one thing, but at 11? That feels bold.

That's not to say that going with Wilson and Nix couldn't work — of course it could. Anything's possible. Fans would just have to see it to believe it.

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