Minnesota has a lot of pressing needs this offseason. Quarterback, on the other hand, is a position where the Vikings are pretty established.
Kirk Cousins has been the team’s starter for the past three seasons. His contract is difficult to get out of, so it’s not a surprise that Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon predicted Cousins as the team’s starter for 2021.
But Gagnon suggested something that was a bit surprising. He wrote that it would make a lot of sense for Minnesota to draft a quarterback in the first round (H/T Dustin Baker of Vikings Territory).
“Both head coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman have reaffirmed their love for Cousins of late,” Gagnon wrote. “He’s essentially unreleasable and I’m not sure anyone would want to trade for his contract anyway. He’s due $76 million the next two seasons. Still, it would make a lot of sense for them to grab somebody like Mac Jones midway through the first round of the draft.”
Jones is a similar player to Cousins. Hypothetically, if he became as good as Cousins and was on a rookie contract, he’s surely more valuable. However, Jones benefitted an awful lot from how good his team was in college. Yes, he was a big part of that, but he may not translate to the NFL as well as some hope.
Personally, I think the team should trade back. If Jones is available and the team accumulated more picks, I don’t hate the choice of taking him, but I’m not sure that he will be an upgrade at the quarterback position for the Vikings.