Getty Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell (left) and quarterback Kirk Cousins.
USC quarterback Caleb Williams is a once-in-a-decade talent at quarterback that many teams won’t want to miss out on in the 2024 draft — and that breeds the taboo subject of tanking in today’s NFL.
“[Caleb] Williams is Patrick Mahomes,” an anonymous NFL general manager told ESPN’s Matt Miller, “but we didn’t know Mahomes was him yet [when he was drafted in 2017].”
“He has the potential to be a guy owners want to lose [games] in December [to be able to draft],” a West Coast scout told Miller.
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Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski took inventory of the teams that should consider tanking to improve their chances of landing Williams next April, listing the Minnesota Vikings among six teams that would benefit from accepting the tank for the 2023 season.
Considering Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s “competitive rebuild” took form this offseason with the release of many household veterans who had passed their prime, Sobleski found a tanking season to be the ultimate opportunity to accelerate the Vikings’ rebuild by drafting Williams to succeed Kirk Cousins.
Cousins is a competent quarterback. The four-time Pro Bowl selection operates proficiently within an offense’s structure. Therein lies the problem. He does exactly what’s asked of him. Nothing more, nothing less. As a result, the Vikings are a product of what’s schemed and what those around Cousins are capable of once the ball is in their hands.
In a world where the quarterback position evolved into what an individual can add beyond what’s scripted, Cousins is a throwback. He can do enough for a team to compete and even win a division crown. Yet his teams have never gotten further than a divisional playoff contest.
Furthermore, Cousins and the Vikings are approaching a crossroads, since the quarterback is a free agent after the upcoming season. Adofo-Mensah should expedite the process and enter a full-blown rebuild by moving on from Cousins sooner rather than later.
Vikings Are Unlikely Contenders for the 2023 Season
GettyThe Vikings are banking on a developmental year for their defense in 2023.
While embracing the tank goes against the Vikings’ organizational M.O., the new front office took steps toward a tear down this offseason.
Minnesota parted ways with running back Dalvin Cook, wide receiver Adam Thielen, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, edge-defender Za’Darius Smith, linebacker Eric Kendricks and cornerbacks Chandon Sullivan, Duke Shelley and Patrick Peterson.
That’s out of character for a team that went 13-4 in the regular season and won their division last year. However, the Vikings got a good look at themselves in a 31-24 loss to the New York Giants in the opening round of the playoffs, allowing 431 total yards to an average Giants offense. The Philadelphia Eagles trounced New York 38-7 the next week as the disparity between the top teams in the NFC and the Vikings is evident.
Minnesota has moved on from last season’s leading rusher, second-leading receiver, leading tackler, a 10-sack pass-rusher, co-leader in interceptions and entire starting cornerback core.
And while the young players who will take those spots could exceed their predecessors, it’s wishful thinking to expect first- and second-year players to fill in seamlessly in their first season as regular contributors.
Ideally, the 2023 season will be a developmental year for a core of young talent on the defensive side of the ball that is learning a new system under Brian Flores. That group should make strides throughout the 2023 season in preparation to make a run in the next few years as they continue to grow under Flores.
Until then, the Vikings are at the limitations of the defense and Cousins’ taking what’s given, which has largely been eight to 10 wins a season throughout his stead in Minnesota.
If Cousins can lead the team to a deep playoff run this season, Minnesota may consider extending him, but otherwise, the defense’s development would coincide with the timeline of a first-round rookie quarterback like Williams.
Kirk Cousins Makes it Hard for Vikings to Tank
The irony in the Vikings wanting to tank to improve the quarterback position is that Cousins doesn’t allow teams to tank.
His good, not great status as a signal-caller has always kept his teams in the middle of the pack.
Even with a defense that was cratering to the bottom of the league in the final years of the Mike Zimmer era, the Vikings never landed a pick inside the top 10. They’ve also never finished as a
2019: No. 18 overall
2020: No. 22 overall
2021: No. 14 overall
2022: No. 12 overall
2023: No. 23 overall
Cousins has averaged 9.2 wins a season for his time in Minnesota despite the defense’s atrophy over the past three seasons.
Tanking is likely out of the question so long as he’s in purple and gold.
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Vikings Must Embrace Sacrifice to Land Generational QB, Analyst Says