SB Nation Quarterback Draft Has Mixed Results For Vikings

This was actually posted in the FanShots a couple of days ago by “viking22,” but it gives us something to talk about.

Our friends at the SB Nation mothership gave us a hypothetical: What if every quarterback in the National Football League was suddenly declared a free agent and were redistributed to the 32 NFL teams via a draft. Obviously, age would be a consideration in such a scenario, but would teams be able to overlook that for an obviously great talent?

Well, using the Super Bowl odds provided by the folks at Bovada, the SB Nation crew went about the fake business of redistributing quarterbacks. The Vikings were picking all the way down at #20 in this scenario, and the team’s current starting quarterback didn’t make it to their spot in the selection process.

Sam Bradford went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the #17 overall selection.

The Buccaneers have looked on the verge of a breakout season, but Jameis Winston has been a tad too inconsistent in his first two NFL seasons. Bradford has much less upside, but he is consistent.

Not to be left out, Teddy Bridgewater made an appearance in this hypothetical redraft as well. Who was the lucky team that got him? Why, it was the New England Patriots at #32, because of course it was.

The Patriots might as well take a shot on Bridgewater at this point. It’s a bad situation for the team, but Bill Belichick will probably find a way, right? Or maybe land USC’s Sam Darnold, somehow. Things always work out well for New England.

So, who did our beloved Minnesota Vikings end up with in this scenario? Well, if you looked at the picture attached to the story before clicking on it, you’ve probably figured it out.

Yes, in this scenario, Eli Manning is the new starting quarterback for your Minnesota Vikings.

Now we’re getting into the tier of proven quarterbacks nearing the end of their career and young quarterbacks who haven’t proven much yet. At age 36, Manning falls in the former, but has been a pretty consistent and reliable player who shouldn’t have trouble being the same for Minnesota.

In order to get Manning in this scenario, the Vikings passed on some pretty significant names, including some guy named Tom Brady. Now, I understand that Manning already has some chemistry with the Minnesota Vikings. Unfortunately for him, the players he has chemistry with all currently play defense for the Vikings, not offense. How would he translate to Pat Shurmur’s offense? I don’t know.

Brady went three picks later to Manning’s “former” team, the New York Giants. Obviously, they pointed out that Brady is now 40 years old, but you know what? I’ll take Brady at 40 over Manning at 36. I might be tempted to take Brady at 70 over Manning at 36. But that’s just me.

Yes, this is a scenario that will never actually take place, but like I said in the opener, at least it gives us something to talk about.