Anthony Richardson to the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL Draft is gaining steam among insiders, the latest being Star Tribune Vikings reporter Ben Goessling, who says he isn’t just throwing stuff at the wall when he mocks Richardson to the Vikings.
Goessling’s mock has the Vikings moving up to the 11th pick in a trade with the Titans to draft Richardson, who is perceived by most to be the most athletic quarterback, maybe ever, to enter the draft.
“You don’t want to just throw stuff at a wall. You want to have a decent idea of how it’s going to go,” said Goessling, explaining his mock on KFAN FM 100.3 on Tuesday morning.
“Conversations in the last week have made me think, No. 1, they are very much looking at the quarterback possibility in the first round. And No. 2, I think they are keen on some of those quarterbacks in that group, and Richardson being one of them, knowing that you’re going to have some work to do with him,” Goessling said.
The longtime insider, who has focused on the Vikings for the Pioneer Press, ESPN and the Star Tribune, says the Vikings know that drafting Richardson would require at least a year of learning under Kirk Cousins. Cousins, soon to be 35, is entering the final year of his contract but Goessling said he doesn’t think the Vikings have “ruled out the possibility of bringing him back” beyond 2023.
“That means you have a floor and you don’t have to take [a quarterback] just to say we need a starter in 2024. You take one if you feel like this guy is a franchise player, can be the next guy, can be the guy that takes you to the promised land. But you don’t force it before that,” he continued.
“I think, if they get an opportunity to take that guy on Thursday night and if in fact Anthony Richardson is there and the trade up is not terribly crazy, I don’t think they will pass the opportunity up just because they have [Cousins] here now.”
If they don’t trade up or see Richardson or a QB they like fall into their lap with the 23rd pick, Goessling suggests the Vikings could move out of the first round to acquire a 2024 first-round pick and then use their draft capital next year to put themselves in a position to draft one of the top quarterbacks in the 2024 draft.
The Richardson/Vikings juices are really flowing this week after the reputable Peter King predicted Richardson to Minnesota with the 23rd pick in his mock draft. King releases just one mock draft each year, and the fact that he has the Vikings in on Richardson – and Richardson falling all the way to 23 – is noteworthy.
