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(Hat tip to the folks at The Viking Age for having this one first.)
The other day, right here on this very website, I posed the question of whether or not the Minnesota Vikings need to use one of their draft choices this year on a quarterback. Apparently, the folks from ESPN thought that was such a good idea that they asked that to all their NFL bloggers about their respective teams.
(I don’t actually believe that. . .but it would be cool if it was true, wouldn’t it?)
Ben Goessling, the ESPN blogger for the Vikings, doesn’t seem to think that the team is going to be drafting a quarterback when the draft commences two weeks from this Thursday in Philadelphia.
The Vikings signed Case Keenum to be Sam Bradford's backup last week, and they've still got third-year undrafted free agent Taylor Heinicke on the roster. And then there's Teddy Bridgewater, who is trying to return from a catastrophic knee injury to continue his career in Minnesota. There's an argument to be made for another developmental quarterback, but the Vikings might be able to get one as a rookie free agent. They have eight draft picks, but they also have enough other needs that they'll likely fill those before looking at a quarterback.
I did, in fact, make that argument for a developmental quarterback in my piece the other day. I just think that with the futures of both Bridgewater and Bradford up in the air at this point, the team needs more certainty at quarterback that Taylor Heinicke currently offers. I think that if there’s someone the team likes on Day 3 of the draft (because I certainly wouldn’t take one before then), it wouldn’t hurt anything to snap him up and bring him in to compete.
If the Vikings think they could find that potential competition in undrafted free agency, then more power to them. But there’s a reason that undrafted free agent quarterbacks go undrafted. For every Kurt Warner or Tony Romo, there are lots and lots (and lots) of guys that aren’t Kurt Warner or Tony Romo and wind up falling off the map.
What do you folks think? Do you think the purple will draft a quarterback this draft season?