The Minnesota Vikings had a disappointing season last year finishing with a record of 7-10. With the departure of Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter, questions about the Vikings’ future began to arise. Who will be the quarterback next season? Will Justin Jefferson be re-signed? There was immense pressure on Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to make a big splash in the NFL draft, and he delivered.
The Vikings began the draft with picks 11 and 23, the latter of which was acquired from the Houston Texans in exchange for picks in the future. The idea was to use both picks to trade into the top five to draft their quarterback of the future, Drake Maye or JJ McCarthy. But with a few surprise picks in the top ten and zero trades, the Vikings were only forced to trade up one spot for McCarthy. On top of that, they got to keep the 23rd pick. Adofo-Mensah then saw that arguably the best defender in the draft was not being picked; he took the initiative and traded up from the 23rd to the 17th pick to select edge rusher Dallas Turner. In less than three hours, he managed to replace Cousins and Hunter with younger, cheaper players with high potential.
Some people believe McCarthy did not deserve to be drafted high because he was carried by his team in college, but McCarthy deserves way more credit than he has been given. His accuracy is on point, he can use his legs to effectively escape pressure and he has all the intangibles any team wants in a quarterback. All of that combined with the fact that he just turned 21 makes him the perfect candidate to quarterback the Vikings for years to come.
Dallas Turner to the Vikings was very unexpected. Although he is seen by many as the best defensive player in the draft, he does not play a position of need for the Vikings. Turner is a freak athlete and uses his raw skills to embarrass opposing linemen. He will also be mentored by two proven pass rushers in Johnathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel. Turner projects to be a top defender in the NFL, it all just depends on how he reaches his ceiling.
Next season might be rough for the Vikings, but the future is looking much brighter than it was two months ago.
