The Vikings have long eyed this year’s quarterback draft class, looking for a future star. But GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said the team is willing to walk away if the price is too high.
In two weeks, the Vikings’ first pick in the NFL draft could be the culmination of what General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah called a “two-year process” on Thursday during his predraft news conference at TCO Performance Center in Eagan.
The past two years, and their hesitancy to commit to quarterback Kirk Cousins long-term in contract negotiations, occurred under the backdrop of this heralded quarterback class arriving in the NFL draft’s first round on April 25.
The Vikings, who currently have two first-round picks at No. 11 and No. 23, are nearing the end of that process with cross-country flights for private workouts and pro days over the past month. According to Adofo-Mensah, they have emerged feeling there are multiple players worthy of becoming the Vikings’ next franchise quarterback.
“We’ve kind of felt that way for a long time,” he said Thursday.
“There are multiple guys that we are in love with,” he added. “But there’s also other guys that we are in love with … if we get them at a certain value.”
Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O’Connell have talked openly about angling to make a big swing toward the top of the draft order.
If USC’s Caleb Williams and LSU’s Jayden Daniels, the past Heisman Trophy winners, go with the first two picks as frequently projected, the Vikings might have to get to No. 3, held by the Patriots, to reunite North Carolina star Drake Maye with new Vikings quarterbacks coach Josh McCown. McCown coached Maye in 2018 and 2019 at Myers Park High School in Charlotte.
Or perhaps get No. 4 from Arizona for Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, as many have projected in mock drafts. Or maybe wait later for Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. or Oregon’s Bo Nix.
Adofo-Mensah has talked as if the Vikings have many first-round grades on passers in this class.
How many, Kwesi?
“I wish I could give you that answer,” he said. “That would make my phone calls a little tougher.”
While the Vikings are expected to be aggressive in the first round, Adofo-Mensah reiterated they have not locked into one quarterback. He said coaches and evaluators are comfortable leaving a deal on the table if the requested draft picks stockpile beyond their “walkaway price.”
“I do think you’re supposed to price in, you know, a little bit of irrationality,” Adofo-Mensah said. “But then really, it’s always about walkaway prices. And walkaway prices, to me, are meaningful because it’s another action. Your only leverage in the negotiation is your willingness to do something else.”
He also noted that “if the guy’s got less ability, but we have assets to go get [help], those things add up, too.”
The Vikings have been up close and personal with prospects this spring.
O’Connell entered pro day season with a plan to prioritize private workouts where the team and their evaluators can structure drills to their liking. The Vikings have reportedly held private workouts with all five quarterbacks — Maye, Daniels, McCarthy, Penix and Nix — talked about as their potential first-round options. McCown and assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski have been spotted at pro days while O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah have reportedly traveled for private visits and workouts. The Vikings met with all of the top quarterbacks in Indianapolis at the scouting combine.
“We’ve seen them throw,” Adofo-Mensah said. “We’ve known about them for years and gotten their character [information]. … It’s not just maybe the names everybody is thinking of. It’s a lot — it’s everybody.”
One of the great things we probably learned from our meetings is that we saw a lot of great leaders, and none of them were the same,” he added. “And that’s OK. You know, you can be the quiet leader; you can be the fiery leader; you can be the lead-by-example guy. It doesn’t matter, but I do think there’s an intangible sense that’s needed.”
What are the Vikings looking for? Processing and accuracy are among the more important traits, Adofo-Mensah said, as well as the ability to “overcome some stuff,” including “a dirty pocket.” He mentioned intangibles such as leadership and the ability to learn, both of which the team has tried to evaluate during the interview process.
Adofo-Mensah has been instrumental in structuring head-coaching searches both for the 49ers and Vikings, though he’s leaned on O’Connell, the offensive schemer and former NFL quarterback, in this process.
“A lot of it came from Kevin,” Adofo-Mensah said. “Since we got here, Kevin’s really been adamant about, when you select a quarterback, it’s about — it’s a marriage. It’s that serious, and that level of commitment and work that should go into it.”
He added that his contributions have come in “how we measure and process things. But Kevin’s been really a big driver of this process and having completed it, I completely see why, and it’s been a great value.”
