Aloha, Skoloholics! As you know, the combine is in full swing, and the Vikings front office is busy evaluating and meeting with players. As seems to be the case every year, a significant chunk of the fan base is hoping that the Vikings will draft a quarterback of the future. The Vikings currently have Kirk Cousins under center, but his contract only runs through the 2023 season. This draft would be a perfect draft for the Vikings to find their QBOTF, as he would have a year to sit and learn behind Cousins.
Listening to the SKOR North podcast, Darren Wolfson shared that the Vikings formally met with Florida Gators QB Anthony Richardson, profile at NFL.com. Some believe that Richardson is one of the strongest QB prospects in this year’s draft. Start listening at around 2:30 to hear the exchange.
Does this mean anything? Maybe not, as the Vikings will meet formally with around 40 players throughout the week. This could be nothing, it could be a smoke screen, or…….might it mean something?
Might this be a sign that the Vikings are preparing to finally pull the trigger and draft a QB? They haven’t drafted a QB in the first round since 2011 when they infamously reached for Christian Ponder. Coincidentally, Ponder also went to college in Florida, as he was drafted out of Florida State. That pick didn’t work out so well for the Vikings, as Ponder was never able to develop into a solid starting QB.
Here is Richardson’s draft profile from NFL.com:
Richardson was one of the top quarterback recruits in the country coming out of Eastside High School in Gainesville (featured on the Netflix series “QB1: Beyond the Lights”) despite suffering a season-ending injury his senior year. He played in four games as a reserve in 2020 (1-2, 27 yards, one TD, one INT passing; 7-61-8.7 rushing) and in eight contests with one start in 2021 (38-64-59.4%, 529 yards, six TDs, five INTs passing; 51-401-7.9, three TDs rushing), splitting time with Emory Jones, who transferred to Arizona State after the season. Richardson took over the starting job in 2022, throwing for 2,549 yards (176-327-53.8%, 17 TDs, nine INTs) and rushing for 654 yards and nine scores (103 carries, 6.3 per) in 12 games. Richardson opted out of the Las Vegas Bowl. — by Chad Reuter
https://www.nfl.com/prospects/anthony-richardson/32005249-4338-7833-9fd1-1d5e168eb504
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, the quote says, and I agree. If they like a QB in this draft, then I think they should do what it takes to make it happen. SKOL!!!!!
I’d be good with us moving up if they think he’s the guy.
If we were to move up for him, what range do you think we need to move up to? I would think we would need to either trade a player or future picks to get up in the range to make this possible?