Photo: Getty Images North America
The Minnesota Vikings sit in second place in the NFC North with a 3-4 record. Although it feels as if the team’s overall record should be better than what it is, it could also be worse if it weren’t for a couple late game winning drives against mediocre teams.
Kirk Cousins has had his ups and downs already in 2021, but he’s played relatively well through the first seven games. Having said that, he’s due to make $45 million in 2022, a number that seems aggressive considering he’s hovered around .500 since joining Minnesota.
On top of that, there’s never a bad time to draft a quarterback in the NFL. If a rookie comes in and gets off to a promising start it would allow the team to build around that player on a much cheaper deal.
Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune reported earlier this week that Rick Spielman was in Nevada over the weekend scouting a likely first-round QB in Carson Strong.
This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, as the Vikings were rumored to be in the quarterback mix on day one of the 2021 NFL Draft. Although they didn’t end up pulling the trigger, Justin Fields was the player that they reportedly had their eyes on.
Instead, they used their early third-round pick on Kellen Mond, who’s yet to dress for a regular season game. Mond could still turn some heads in the future if his progression comes along, but that seems to still be a few years away.
If the Vikings were to pursue Strong in the 2022 draft they would likely have to use their first-round pick. If this were to happen it would feel as if the Cousins era would be coming to an end in Minnesota.
Strong has had a solid 2021 campaign completing 71.3 percent of his passes for 2,883 yards, 24 touchdowns and five interceptions in only eight games.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Nevada quarterback is an average athlete and is labeled as more of a traditional pocket passer. Strong has a big arm, a quick release and is overall pretty accurate with the football.
The most interesting part of Spielman scouting Strong is the fact that he’s more of an air-raid style quarterback. This would go against the current Vikings scheme on offense, meaning there could be a change there if Strong is on the Vikings’ radar this offseason.
A transition to a more high-powered offense could be huge for the Vikings. They seem to have figured out both tackle positions and have one of the top skilled positional groups across the NFL.
With Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, KJ Osborn, Irv Smith Jr. and a good pass catching running back like Dalvin Cook, it seems as if an air-raid style offense could benefit this team moving forward.
However, that change doesn’t seem likely to happen if Mike Zimmer is still the head coach in 2022 and beyond. It seems unlikely that Zimmer will lose his job mid-season considering the brutal loss to Dallas didn’t end his stint, but it seems unlikely he’ll stick around if the Vikings end up missing the playoffs.
This fanbase is desperately in search of entertainment and that shows with hovering paper airplanes starting to be one of the more exciting aspects at U.S. Bank Stadium while the offense is on the field. Changing the scheme on offense could help revitalize a franchise that doesn’t seem ready to make any sort of playoff run this season.
Strong could potentially be that change, and it seems likely that he wouldn’t be the only hiccup within the Vikings organization heading into the 2022 season.
For more Vikings related news make sure to tune into KFAN 100.3 and stay up to date on KFAN.com.