Overshadowed by Mike Zimmer reportedly agreeing to become the next head coach of the Minnesota Vikings today was the other major question surrounding the Purple offseason: Will they take a quarterback in the NFL draft?
The QB conundrum taking a back seat makes sense, since the draft is four months away and Zimmer to the Vikings is happening now.
Still, it’s never too early to speculate, and the foremost NFL draft expert in all the land, Mel Kiper Jr., gave his first go at predicting where rookies will go today amidst the breaking coaching news.
Here’s how Kiper has the draft unfurling in his first mock of May’s extravaganza.
The Vikings probably wouldn’t mind things unfolding this way, with the Jaguars, Browns, and Raiders passing on signal-callers despite the glaring lack of them on the teams current rosters.
Here’s ESPN’s Ben Goessling with some reaction to Kiper’s early prediction.
Bridgewater, Louisville’s quarterback that led the Cardinals to a win in the Russell Athletic Bowl and No. 15 ranking in the country this season, is widely considered one of the top two quarterbacks going pro.
Other outlets have Bridgewater going to Houston with the No. 1 overall pick, but Kiper seems to think Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel will workout well and overcome his lack of size (5’11”) to be the first player selected.
It’s really too early to tell what will go on, with the Senior Bowl coming up at the end of the month, the Scouting Combine still a ways off and individual workouts to come after that.
What we do know is Bridgewater did some pretty incredible things while leading Louisville to a 12-1 record this season.
Let’s watch some of those things and dream of the possibilities.
