The NFL Draft is just four days away and, after years of wondering what the long-term quarterback plan is for the Minnesota Vikings, it’s almost hard to believe we’re that close to knowing the future finally being revealed.
At this point, it feels like a relative lock that general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will make a trade up the board on draft night, likely into the top-5, to pick the Vikings’ next franchise QB.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s job as Minnesota Vikings GM could be on the line
But in the off chance that we do not land one of Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels or JJ McCarthy in Minnesota, the 3rd-year GM — who apparently does not have the same power within the walls of TCO Performance Center as Rick Spielman once did — could lose his job, according to Charley Walters, a longtime local insider and columnist at the Pioneer Press, in St. Paul.
It’s becoming clear that general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, in his third year with the Vikings, doesn’t have the power within the organization that his predecessor, Rick Spielman, had. Passing on a top quarterback on Thursday could end up costing his job.
Charley Walters – Pioneer Press
Personally, it feels unlikely that Kwesi “passes” on a QB. If the Vikings don’t get their guy, it’s likely because they misjudge QB interest in the top-10 and they don’t end up making a trade early enough to get one of the three quarterback prospects mentioned above.
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But no matter how it happens, this is the first time I’ve seen anybody say that the GM’s job is tied to his ability to land a top QB. Does that mean we’d see Adofo-Mensah fired immediately after the draft, if the Vikings are pushed out of Thursday night’s quarterback sweepstakes? Not necessarily, but Walters doesn’t make that part clear, either.
He does go on to write, immediately after his scoop above, that if the Minnesota Vikings can’t complete a trade up for their guy, they’re backup plan is Oregon’s Bo Nix, not Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.
Vikings fans at the team’s draft party at U.S. Bank Stadium will boo loudly if a quarterback isn’t chosen in the first round. The Vikings’ fallback QB pick is Bo Nix from Oregon.
Charley Walters – Pioneer Press
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