Getty Quarterback Spencer Rattler of the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Should the Minnesota Vikings‘ best laid plans to land an elite QB prospect at the top of this year’s NFL draft fail, a less splashy solution may await them in the middle rounds.
Spencer Rattler was a five-star recruit heading into the University of Oklahoma in 2019. His collegiate career didn’t pan out as successfully as they hype suggested it might, and the now South Carolina alumnus is heading into the draft as a Day-2 prospect due to exciting attributes beset by some serious flaws.
But the quarterback position continues to produce significant need across the league, as it does every season. Among the several teams looking for answers under center that can’t guarantee them in the form of one of the top three or four QB prospects is Minnesota, and former NFL wide receiver Deshaun Jackson believes the Vikings are the right type of fit for Rattler at the next level.
.@DeSeanJackson10 says QB @SpencerRattler would be a great fit in Minnesota 👀 🔊
“I think Minnesota. Going over there with Justin [Jefferson], man, Minnesota,” Jackson said during an appearance on the “Up & Adams Show” this week. “I think that’d be a good fit for him. They need a quarterback, too.”
Rattler, who was making an appearance on the show at the same time, responded to the idea with excitement.
“Hey, that’s a great situation,” Rattler said. “It’d be a blessing to play there, for sure. Got a lot of weapons.”
Ex-Vikings GM Rick Spielman Also Mentioned Minnesota as Good Landing Spot for Spencer Rattler
GettySouth Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler has entered the 2024 NFL draft.
Jackson, a three-time Pro Bowler and bonafide deep threat during his 15-year career, isn’t the only prominent football personality to suggest a pairing of Rattler and the Vikings in recent days.
Former Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman, who worked with the franchise in one high-level capacity or another for 16 years through 2021, told Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports on March 25 that Rattler needs to find the right system to succeed at the next level. For Spielman, that means an offense that sprouted somewhere from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree.
“Anyone coming out of that [offensive] system would be the best, whether it’s the Rams or whether it’s the 49ers. I would say even Minnesota,” Spielman said. “If [Rattler] does get in that right [system], then I think he has a chance, because there’s no question about the throwing and everything like that. It’s just if he’s not in the right situation, he’s gonna fail.”
QB Spencer Rattler Has Big Arm, Small Frame
GettyFormer South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler.
Rattler will turn 24 years old in late September, during the first month of his NFL career should a team draft him.
It is likely that Rattler will come off the board at some point later this month, as Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department labeled the South Carolina QB with a third-round grade and ranked him as the 7th-best quarterback prospect and 66th-best overall prospect heading into the draft.
BR’s scouting report also referred to Rattler as “arm talent personified,” but noted his diminutive stature and overly aggressive nature — sometimes leading to mistakes — as potential faults at the next level.