We all know they overpaid for Kirk Cousins. Don't get me wrong, Cousins is a decent QB, but he got paid elite QB money and he is not an elite player. With two years left on his contract, Rick Spielman needs to start thinking about what he is going to do in 2021 and beyond, when Cousins is gone. Look at the history the Vikings have had at the position, it is not impressive. I don't even remember the last time they had a true franchise QB. Before Christian Ponder (probably the worst decision Spielman has ever made), it was mostly old veterans that played with the team for a couple years - Favre, Moon, Jeff George, Cunningham etc. The younger players never seemed to work out. Ponder was a 4th-5th round guy that somehow Spielman saw as a 1st rounder. We all know how that turned out. Teddy B was playing pretty well but got hurt. That was just bad luck, but I still never saw him as a "star" QB in the NFL. And then there was the trade of a 1st round pick for Sam Bradford. Decent QB but the guy could never stay healthy and behind Minnesota's o-line he was doomed.
So that is three 1st round picks in the last 8 years for three QB's that are all no longer on the team. The Vikings QB's, again, have mostly been veterans that are only with the team for a short period of time. Cousins, Keenum, Bradford, Cassel... the list goes on and on. As a lifelong Vikings fan, I want to see some stability at the most important position in the game. Plenty of other teams have done it. Hell, Green Bay has had two HoF QB's in a row and between the two of them have been the teams' starters since 1992. That's 27 years!!
What options do the Vikings have to make this happen? I am only a fan, and although I am a huge football nerd, I have no qualifications, only opinions, when it comes to such things. So here is what I propose...
Trade a starting cornerback for a 2021 1st round pick. Make the trade with a team the will have an early-mid pick. A team that could use some good veterans on defense. Miami, perhaps. They have some holes on defense and now have extra 2021 draft picks... Offer them Xavier Rhodes, Everson Griffen and a 4th round 2020 pick in exchange for a 2021 1st round pick. Losing Rhodes would hurt, but the Vikings have some young corners that they think are going to be good - Holton Hill and Mike Hughes specifically. Griffen would be a bigger loss being that there is less depth at his position, but I have liked what I have seen out of Stephen Weatherly, and feel that he did a good job starting when Griffen was out last year. Maybe trade Weatherly along with corner Trae Waynes if Miami wants younger players?
THEN during the 2020 draft, put the word out that you want to trade your 1st round pick and see what offers come in. There are alays teams willing to trade up. Get a 1st round pick in the 2021 draft in return, giving you three 1st rounders for 2021 and use those picks to trade up and get the #1 overall pick and take Trevor Lawrence. The 1st rounder from Miami would most likely be a top 5 pick and may even be #1, in which case there would be no need to trade up, obviously. And even with a top 5 or top 10 pick, I doubt you would have to give up all three 1st rounders to trade up to #1, so more than likely you would not only have the #1 pick, but also a later 1st round pick, which could be used to upgrade the o-line or to get a #3 WR.
I just feel that Lawrence has the most potential of any QB prospect since Andrew Luck, and I think the Vikings need to do whatever they can to draft this kid and finally have a franchise QB. Set things in motion to have a great offense for him to step into - make moves to improve the o-line and get more weapons behind Diggs and Thielen and give Lawrence the best chance to be succesful right away.
Thoughts?
