Vikings take massive gamble in ESPN's latest mock draft
Draft week is finally upon us, which also means mock draft season is coming to a close. Vikings fans have sifted through many mock drafts leading up to the NFL’s annual event, but there has been one common theme in most of them over the last few weeks. With starting QB Kirk Cousins and backup […]
Draft week is finally upon us, which also means mock draft season is coming to a close. Vikings fans have sifted through many mock drafts leading up to the NFL’s annual event, but there has been one common theme in most of them over the last few weeks.
With starting QB Kirk Cousins and backup signal caller Nate Sudfeld each with one year left on their respective contracts many experts believe Minnesota could be in the market for a quarterback.
There are plenty of talented passers in the 2023 Draft Class, but one continues to pop up whenever the Vikings are brought up. That is Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker.
A highly regarded draft expert at ESPN, Matt Miller released his seven-round mock draft on Sunday. Miller surprised nobody by mocking Hooker to the Vikes at No. 23 overall.
From Miller: One of the most popular texts I've gotten from evaluators throughout the past 10 days has been some form of "Watch the Vikings for Hendon Hooker." That could be NFL scouts connecting dots, but the Round 1 talk for Hooker has been red hot since the combine and the Vikings do make sense for the dynamic passer. With Kirk Cousins set to hit free agency following the 2023 season at age 35, finding his replacement should be a priority.
Hooker will need to adjust to the spacing of the NFL after playing in the tempo spread at Tennessee, but he's accurate and mobile, and he throws a beauty of a deep ball. As for Hooker's ceiling, one NFL quarterbacks coach I spoke to said he believes he can be a top-15 starter. "Look at [Jared] Goff, Geno Smith, Cousins … he has better all-around tools than those guys. The right system will help, but from a talent perspective, he can be a top-half-of-the-league guy."
If Hooker is the Vikings’ pick in the first round, it ultimately opens the door for a roster overhaul in the 2024 season. Cousins’ play in the upcoming season is a massive determining factor in the team’s future at the position, but he is set to turn 35 years old this offseason.
Going the quarterback route would be quite a gamble for GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. That being said, if Minnesota likes a certain prospect there’s no sense in waiting to pull the trigger, especially at the most important position in all of professional sports.
