What This Vikings Regime is Looking For in a Quarterback

Let's assume, for a moment, that the Vikings are going to let Kirk Cousins walk in free agency and draft a quarterback this year. As they study tape on college QBs, what are some of the traits they're looking for?

"I think you have to be two players," GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said this week. "You have to be able to operate on schedule. When Kevin calls a great play, gets the right look versus the defense, we gotta operate at a high level, make the right decision, make an accurate throw."

"And then there's that second play, when sometimes — and I don't think it's very often, I think Kevin's one of the best there is — but when the play doesn't exactly go as planned, maybe a teammate struggles, how do you overcome context? That's something we're going to look for."

Adofo-Mensah went on to talk about the importance of leadership at the quarterback position, citing the example Cousins sets with his work ethic. But that quote about wanting a quarterback who can overcome adversity and make things happen when the play doesn't go as planned — that's the type of thing that makes you think this might be the year the Vikings move on from their veteran starter of the last six years.

Cousins, for all of the things he does well, doesn't have that dynamic ability to create when the play breaks down. The elite quarterbacks in the NFL — Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Dak Prescott — have that creative element that terrifies defenses. Same with ascending young stars like Trevor Lawrence and C.J. Stroud and Jordan Love. Those quarterbacks can all operate their offenses when things are on schedule — something Cousins has always been good at — but they can also make plays that aren't scripted.

The good news for the Vikings is that this year's draft class has plenty of quarterbacks who can do both. Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels are incredible dual-threat prospects, if Minnesota wants to try to trade up for one of them. J.J. McCarthy is an underrated athlete. Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. also showed off plenty of athleticism in their Heisman-finalist seasons.

Surgical pocket passers like Cousins and Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff still have a place in the NFL, but the league is clearly shifting towards quarterbacks who can do both. Will this be the year the Vikings join the wave?

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all season long.

Subscribe to the Inside the Vikings newsletter

Follow Will Ragatz on X/Twitter