Getty General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (left) and head coach Kevin O'Connell (right) of the Minnesota Vikings.
As the NFL Draft nears, it is looking more and more inevitable that the Minnesota Vikings are on the hunt for the eventual replacement for quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Who the Vikings are able to target will ultimately depend on where they pick. Minnesota currently owns the No. 23 selection in the first round and doesn’t have a lot to package with it to move up, with just five total picks in this year’s draft. However, if general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is willing to go all in on a prospect he likes, the Vikings can add assets in 2024 to get a deal done.
Such was the premise of a trade proposal that The 33rd Team pitched in its most recent mock draft and posted to Twitter on Saturday, April 15.
The deal would see the Vikings send the 23rd and 87th picks in 2023 along with a 2024 first-rounder to the New York Jets to move up to No. 13 and select quarterback Anthony Richardson out of Florida.
Vikings Need to Trade Into Top-3 to Draft Richardson
GettyQuarterback Anthony Richardson of the Florida Gators looks on before a game against the Florida State Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium on November 25, 2022 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
While the notion of the aforementioned proposal make sense, as does the trade package, the general consensus has become that Richardson will be long gone by the time the Jets — or in this case, the Vikings — come up to pick at No. 13.
Most experts expect a run at the position at the very top of the draft, with ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. predicting the first four picks off the board will be the top four QB prospects — Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Richardson and Will Levis, in that order.
Other schools of thought have led to projections that either Richardson or Levis drops considerably further down the board. For instance, Todd McShay of ESPN predicts in his latest mock draft that Stroud, Young and Richardson will be selected with the first three picks, while Levis will slip to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 14.
In either case, the notion of a team trading with the Arizona Cardinals to procure Richardson with the 3rd overall pick is gaining momentum with the first round just 11 days out. Kiper projects the Tennessee Titans to move up from No. 11 to No. 3, while McShay predicts that the Indianapolis Colts will trade up from No. 4 to No. 3 to ensure they secure Richardson.
If the Vikings truly want to get into the Richardson sweepstakes, they probably need to target a trade with the Cardinals at No. 3. The Carolina Panthers already shipped the farm to the Chicago Bears to move from No. 9 into the first slot, swapping first-round picks this year and including a second-rounder in 2023, a first-rounder in 2024 and another second-rounder in 2025, along with top-flight wide receiver D.J. Moore.
The Panthers are going to stick with the first pick and the Houston Texans aren’t moving off of No. 2. The Colts will select a QB no matter what at No. 4, meaning at least three quarterbacks are gone by the time the Seattle Seahawks hit the clock with the 5th selection. As such, the only way the Vikings can guarantee themselves Richardson, assuming he doesn’t go first or second, is to move into the third spot.
Vikings Offer Perfect Situation For Richardson to Enter NFL
GettyMinnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell (left) talks with quarterback Kirk Cousins (right) during the NFC Wild Card Playoff Game against the New York Giants at U.S. Bank Stadium on January 15, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
It’s possible that the trade package The 33rd Team laid out on Saturday — picks No. 23 and No. 87 this year and the Vikings’ first-rounder next year — gets conversations started with the Cardinals. But based on what Carolina surrendered to Chicago to move up only eight spots, Minnesota will probably have to include at least another future second-round selection to truly capture Arizona’s attention.
That is a high price indeed for a dual threat quarterback with meaningful mechanical issues to sort out and one who isn’t likely to be game-ready in his rookie season. Richardson completed less than 54% of his passes last year at Florida, throwing for a pedestrian 2,549 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions, per Football Reference. However, he also ran the ball 103 times for 654 yards and nine scores.
Furthermore, Richardson’s measurable qualities are off the charts. He stands at 6-feet, 4-inches tall and weighs 244 pounds. He ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine earlier this year and registered a vertical leap of 40.5 inches, per NFL.com.
Kiper is on record saying Richardson has arguably the highest ceiling of any quarterback in the 2023 class, though there is almost universal agreement among draft gurus that Richardson will need to sit at least one season behind a bonafide NFL starter.
The Vikings offer arguably the perfect scenario for Richardson to succeed. Cousins is under contract for one more season and is one of the most reliable players in all of football when it comes to being on the field week in and week out. Head coach Kevin O’Connell is a former NFL quarterback himself and a Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator with a talent for QB development.
Beyond that, Minnesota has major weapons in wide receiver Justin Jefferson and tight end T.J. Hockenson, both of whom will make life easier for a developing passer and both of whom the Vikings are expected to extend on long-term contracts.
If Adofo-Mensah sees the future in Richardson then the juice is worth the squeeze, even if the Vikings need to mortgage the next couple of drafts to make it happen.