Getty Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell during the team's 2023 season opener.
The Minnesota Vikings are considering their future at quarterback, putting Kirk Cousins‘ future in Minnesota into question.
Starting the season with a 2-4 record, the Vikings currently hold a top-10 pick in next year’s draft, making this offseason an opportune time to find the successor to Cousins.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) sees North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye as the “perfect fit” for those plans.
“Many signs point to the Vikings moving on from Kirk Cousins at the end of this season. He is in the last year of his latest contract, and the rest of the roster is not built to compete with a veteran quarterback. The 2-4 Vikings own a top-10 pick as things stand, and if that remains the case by the end of the year, they should be fixated on this quarterback class,” PFF’s Trevor Sikkema wrote.
“The dream is Drake Maye, a dual-threat quarterback with true NFL arm talent. Maye has recorded one of the top big-time throw rates in the FBS over the past two seasons (7.8%, fifth). The idea of Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell — a former quarterbacks coach and NFL quarterback himself — getting a chance to groom Maye as his franchise signal-caller is enticing.”
Drake Maye Doing More With Less in North Carolina
GettyDrake Maye #10 of North Carolina Tar Heels.
Currently a sophomore, Maye, 21, has led the Tar Heels to a 6-0 start for the first time since 1997. That doesn’t come as much of a surprise after Maye won ACC Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2022, throwing for 4,297 yards, 37 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
Maye is off to another impressive start this season, totaling 1,923 yards passing for 12 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
His accuracy, a trait O’Connell has valued highly in his evaluation of quarterbacks, is among the best quarterbacks in the league. Maye earned a midseason superlative as the “Most Accurate Passer” in college football.
“If we set a target depth range to five yards or more (taking away manufactured high-percentage throws), Maye has the second-best adjusted completion percentage in the FBS (77.8%). He also has a 93.0 passing grade on such passes,” Sikkema wrote on October 5. “Though ball placement is a different conversation than adjusted completion rate, Maye has been very good in that area, too.”
What’s even more impressive is Maye doing so without a top-tier offensive line that many of the top quarterbacks in college football benefit from. His average time to throw of 2.73 seconds ranks 73rd among qualifying passers. Caleb Williams, for reference, has 3.10 seconds to throw on average, the 11th-highest average tracked by PFF.
Vikings Have Ideal Situation for QB Drake Maye
GettyVikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson
O’Connell’s hand in helping Cousins play a winning brand of football was evident last season when the veteran quarterback tied an NFL record eight game-winning drives.
The Vikings head coach’s value to a young quarterback cannot be understated, but beyond O’Connell is arguably the best personnel situation in the entire league.
An elite pass-catching core spearheaded by Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson along with two Pro Bowl caliber tackles in Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw offer an ideal situation for a young quarterback.
Any shortcomings on the offensive interior, although there has been improvement this season, can also be remedied in the future with the cap savings of not having a veteran quarterback contract on the roster.
That’s a significant reason why Minnesota will explore its options.