Vikings' options if trade falls through look concerning in new mock draft

All signs point to the Minnesota Vikings taking a quarterback in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. While they could take one at No. 11 overall, that is not going to be in the range to get a top-four signal-caller in this draft. Caleb Williams is going first to the Chicago Bears. Jayden Daniels is a top-three lock. Everything else I have seen suggests Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy are top-eight locks.

Although the Vikings could reach on either Bo Nix out of Oregon or Michael Penix Jr. out of Washington at No. 11, they might be able to get either of them later at No. 23, the pick they got from the Houston Texans in a trade made earlier this offseason. While the Vikings could roll with Sam Darnold throughout all of next season, why would you honestly want to put your fans through that?

Fate would have it, in Peter Schrager's latest NFL mock draft for NFL.com, he does not have the Vikings trading up to get a quarterback, or trading at all. He has Minnesota taking Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold at No. 11 then taking Nix out of Oregon at No. 23 later in the first round. While I like Nix more than other NFL draft pundits, Minnesota was better off keeping Kirk Cousins.

This is the type of draft-day blunder that will get Kwesi Adofo-Mensah fired, maybe Kevin O'Connell.

Minnesota Vikings need to trade up for a quarterback to avoid disaster

Before I lay into what the Vikings "did" in Schrager's mock draft, I will say this: Minnesota is the best situation any potential first-round quarterback could go to this spring. O'Connell is a fantastic offensive mind, one who will get the most out of his rookie's talent. Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson seems to be on board with the direction this team is going in. That matters so very much.

So with that in mind, I do kind of like Nix going to the Vikings at No. 23. That might be where he should be coming off the board anyway. If they need to get him at No. 11, given the position he plays, I would totally understand. However, I think going with Arnold at No. 11 could end up costing the Vikings big time. It screams the Cleveland Browns taking Justin Gilbert and Johnny Manziel in 2024.

Even if Arnold becomes a hall of famer like Joe Thomas did for Cleveland in 2007, it wasn't like Brady Quinn did all that much as a starter in his NFL career. What I'm getting at is Adofo-Mensah would be putting an insane amount of unrealistic pressure on Arnold and Nix if they were to be drafted in that order. To me, the order in which you draft players should matter. Go quarterback first in this situation.

From personal experience, I distinctly remember my Atlanta Falcons taking Matt Ryan No. 3 overall in 2008 before taking Sam Baker later on in round one. While Baker had a fine career, Ryan is a borderline Hall of Famer, arguably the greatest Falcon ever. Had they taken a tackle before a quarterback in 2008, I am not entirely sure that I would still be a Falcons fan. You get what I'm saying?

While it is advantageous to take a quarterback in the first round for fifth-year option reasons, you want to do that with a tremendous level of confidence. A team may have to pay a premium for one, but it is the most premium position on the football field. Again, I may like what Nix has to offer as a first-round quarterback, but a team like Minnesota cannot come across as passive in drafting him.

You need to breed optimism into your team through the draft, not making fans second-guessing it.