No matter where you look, if there’s a seven-round mock draft it’ll undoubtedly have the Vikings using a mid- to late-round pick on a quarterback.
Kirk Cousins has two years left on his contract, and behind him there is Sean Mannion and Kyle Sloter, neither of whom are projected to be a full-time starter in the NFL. That means now is probably as good a time as ever to take a shot on a developmental quarterback, of which there are plenty in this year’s draft, according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.
Pelissero spoke with coaches and talent evaluators and came up with a list of the top 15 quarterbacks in the draft, giving each of them rounds they’re projected to be drafted in.
- Kyler Murray, Oklahoma – 1st round
- Drew Lock, Missouri – 1st round
- Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State – 1st round
- Daniel Jones, Duke – 1st round
- Will Grier, West Virginia – 2nd or 3rd round
- Ryan Finley, NC State – 2nd or 3rd round
- Jarrett Stidham, Auburn – 3rd or 4th round
- Tyree Jackson, Buffalo – 4th or 5th round
- Clayton Thorson, Northwestern – 4th or 5th round
- Gardner Minshew, Washington State – 5th or 6th round
- Easton Stick, NDSU – 6th or 7th round
- Brett Rypien, Boise State – 7th round or undrafted
- Trace McSorley, Penn State – 7th round or undrafted
- John Lovett, Princeton – 7th round or undrafted
- Kyle Shurmur, Vanderbilt – 7th round or undrafted
You can go ahead and cross the first four names off the list, and then probably cross off Grier and Finley because it’d be pretty shocking if the Vikings took a QB with a second- or third-round pick.
It’s possible that they love one so much that they just take him, much like they did Dalvin Cook when he slid to Minnesota midway through the second round in 2017, but that seems unlikely.
Some of the remaining names might look familiar.
Stick is the reigning FCS player of the year who shattered numerous passing records at NDSU. Thorson and McSorley both come out of the Big Ten, Rypien is the nephew of former Redskins Super Bowl-winning quarterback Mark Rypien, and Shurmur is the son of Giants head coach and former Vikings offensive coordinator, Pat Shurmur.
According to Vikings Territory, the Vikings have met with Stick, Rypien and McSorley, in addition to Jordan Ta’amu of Ole Miss and Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald, who didn’t make Pelissero’s top 15 list.
Fitzgerald, a dual-threat QB who ran for 1,121 yards and 13 touchdowns last season and passed for 1,767 yards and 16 touchdowns, was the only quarterback invited to Minnesota’s annual top 30 prospects visit.
Stick and Rypien met Vikings brass at the East-West Shrine Game, McSorley talked to the Vikings during Senior Bowl week, and Ta’amu met Minnesota bigwigs during the Ole Miss pro day, per Vikings Territory.
Based on those interactions, it’s fair to think one of them could be on Minnesota’s radar at some point in the draft.
