Who’s going to be the best quarterback in the upcoming NFL draft?
Yahoo Sports NFL reporter Charles Robinson said that one general manager told him the answer is whoever gets drafted by the Minnesota Vikings.
“You’re going in with an offensive-minded head coach who’s been effectively an offensive coordinator,” Robinson said on a recent Yahoo Sports podcast. “… You saw what he was able to do with Kirk Cousins. When Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles, (Vikings coach Kevin) O’Connell had gotten, in that scheme, had gotten Cousins to the point where he was arguably playing the best football of his life.”
Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd recently shared a similar sentiment, saying he believes whoever lands in Minnesota will be the second-most successful quarterback in the 2024 draft behind Southern California’s Caleb Williams, the presumptive No. 1 pick.
The Vikings have two first-round picks at No. 11 and No. 23, the latter of which they acquired from the Houston Texans. It appears they’re primed to trade up for a top-5 pick to select their quarterback of the future.
They’ve signed Sam Darnold as a bridge QB in the meantime.
“There’s just an element of setup there for success,” Robinson said. “And by the way, you have a bridge quarterback in place. So let’s say it’s a J.J McCarthy that goes there right. You have the bridge quarterback in place, he doesn’t have to go out there and start right away. Let’s say it’s Drake Maye who ends up there. Not only do you have all those other factors, he has a relationship with Josh McCown right, so there’s another setup there that makes a lot of sense.
“The landing spot here matters, and I think the fact that the top-three picks are all defensive-minded head coaches could potentially be a negative for all the quarterbacks taken in the top-three picks … I see why Minnesota, to me, when to talk to personnel people why that’s the enticing landing spot because it seems to have the best setup for success and also a certain level of patience in Year 1 as well.”
The NFL draft takes place from April 25-27.
