Saturday night usually belongs to college football but the Minnesota Vikings made some headlines of their own as they went to scout USC’s Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye on Saturday night.
Both quarterbacks are considered franchise-level talents in next year’s NFL Draft. With the Vikings at 1-4, the possibility of Minnesota either winding up with a high pick or the possibility of trading up in the draft for a quarterback has increased, leading the Vikings to do their homework on the upcoming class.
For Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah that meant a trip to South Bend, Ind. to watch Williams and the Trojans battle the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Charleston Bowes of Rivals.com and ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg confirmed that Adofo-Mensah was in attendance on Saturday night but Williams put up a clunker, throwing three interceptions in a 48-20 loss.
Caleb Williams has thrown THREE interceptions in the first half against Notre Dame https://t.co/YJWCgpFXjW
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) October 15, 2023
Meanwhile, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson reports that the Vikings had director of college scouting Mike Shoilton and scout Sean Gustus in Chapel Hill to watch Maye in a top-25 matchup against the Miami Hurricanes.
Maye fared better than Williams, throwing for 273 yards and four touchdowns but completed just 17-of-33 passes (51.5 percent) in a 41-31 win.
His best throw of the night. pic.twitter.com/JWyJtEAkDG https://t.co/P6bHnWdfJx
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) October 15, 2023
One night is unlikely to sway the quarterback debate in one direction but it’s clear the Vikings are at least doing their homework on this year’s class.
