The Minnesota Vikings are coming off of an anomaly of a first season under head coach Kevin O’Connell. The team ran away with the NFC North divisional title despite finishing the regular season with a negative point differential. The Vikings were excellent in close games, but when they lost, they lost big.
The inability of their defense to consistently get stops was a big reason why the team’s luck ran out during Super Wild Card Weekend against the New York Giants. Heading into the offseason, fixing that side of the ball will be their No. 1 concern. However, there are other needs to keep an eye on.
Offensively, the Vikings need to start preparing for life after Kirk Cousins. He is entering the final season of his contract and turning 35 in August, it is fair to question how many more seasons he will be the team’s starter. He was great in the clutch in 2022, but he may only have a few good seasons left in him.
That is partly why it should come as no surprise that the Vikings are doing their due diligence when it comes to quarterback prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft. Anthony Richardson out of Florida is the player that Minnesota seems to have their eyes on should the board break in their favor.
Set to pick 24th in the 2023 NFL Draft, it is highly unlikely that Richardson will be on the board when the Vikings come on the clock. He is shooting up draft boards after a strong athletic showing at the NFL Combine and there are whispers that he could become the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft.
If that is the case, Minnesota will certainly not have a shot at selecting him. Should a slide occur, the Vikings will have a tough decision to make. Kellen Mond, who was selected in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, was waived during the 2022 offseason by the Vikings.
But, earlier in that draft, they were seriously considering the possibility of selecting Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. The Vikings owned the No. 14 pick in that draft and Fields was sliding down the board before the Chicago Bears traded up into the No. 11 slot with the Giants to select him.
Had that trade not occurred, Fields could very well have been the long-term answer at quarterback in Minnesota. If that opportunity presents itself again this season with Richardson, there is a good chance they pull the trigger on him and let him sit a year behind Cousins before being handed the reins of the offense in 2024.
