Kevin O'Connell can't have 'stubborn mindset' going into QB process

Vikings' head coach addressed the QB approach in Orlando at the owner's meetings

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By Matthew Coller

ORLANDO, Fla. — It takes two to tango. So the Minnesota Vikings need somebody else to tango with them if they want to move up to the top of the draft to take their favorite quarterback prospect.

During Kevin O’Connell’s session with Twin Cities beat reporters (Purple Insider included) at the NFL Owners Meetings on Monday, the Vikings’ head coach did not make any attempt to shy away from the team’s situation regarding the quarterback position. They are very likely are picking one, it’s just not clear whether they are picking their favorite, second favorite, third favorite, fourth favorite, fifth favorite or sixth favorite.

They attempted to weigh the odds of getting a favorite, it seems, by trading for the 23rd overall pick from Houston. That gives the Vikings an ace in the hole from the perspective of trading up and in the way that they could pick a defensive player at No. 11 and then move up from 23 to grab their quarterback or some combination of those things that do not cost the farm to land a QB.

“If [trading up] is not something we're able to get done, as we continue to go through the rest of the process, evaluating what it looks like at pick 11, what it may look like off of a trade back from pick 11, what it may look like at 23, possibly trading up from 23, trading back from 23… with that move that [Adofo-Mensah] made to get pick 23 was about the flexibility,” O’Connell said.

How they use those two picks will be determined by the way things play out with the top teams at the draft, particularly Washington (2nd), New England (3rd), Arizona (4th) and Los Angeles (5th). Will somebody be willing to make a move that allows the Vikings to move up or will they stick at the 11th and 23rd selections and see how the draft board falls?

“I think there's a lot of really exciting aspects of the quarterback position available in this draft now, and what that means for either 11, 23 [overall picks] or possibly above those two selections, there's a lot that goes into that,” O’Connell said. “We need another team to be complicit in that action to go get one of those guys if that ends up being the plan. But I am excited to kind of see this process through and see if we can potentially add our quarterback in the future to that room.”

While it does require another team to lend the Vikings a helping hand, whether they trade up will also rest on how much they are willing to give up in order to do so. Would they be willing to add a 2025 first-round pick to the pot to clear anyone else’s offer? There is expected to be lots of competition from QB-needy teams for those precious top picks. On Monday, Broncos head coach Sean Payton called the idea of his franchise making a move up for a QB “realistic.”

In attempt to be realistic himself, O’Connell acknowledged that he has to be prepared for multiple potential paths and cannot be dead set on one player because that QB might not be made available. O’Connell said he couldn’t have a “stubborn mindset” and rather needed to focus on analyzing the QB class from every perspective.

“My job in this process is to evaluate the quarterbacks, build relationships with these guys, really envision what it's going to look like for the longterm with that player being a Minnesota Viking, figuring out how that fits in comparison with each and every one of them,” O’Connell said.

How will he go about that evaluation process? O’Connell explained what goes into the individual QB visits.

“A lot of times if you just turn on flip on the tape, give them the clicker and have them take you through it,” O’Connell said. “You can ask them questions in real time and see how fast they either remember things, how fast they're digesting the information or the question you're asking. How clearly and articulate can they put that information into real tangible things that then I can use as a coach for feedback to help them in the future.”

O’Connell contiued…

“I think there’s value of them learning basically a foreign language in a lot of ways, our system, parts of our system that then you can then go on the grass and see if they understand how we want to set our feet and eyes on this drop or what kind of, when we talk about pocket movement, what that looks like when we talk about on schedule versus off schedule, red zone third down, like how it fits within the framework of not our system, but the system that we want to build for them.”

The Vikings’ head coach couldn’t be any more in his element than talking about the quarterback evaluation process. He came across in Orlando as energized by the opportunity they have to find a QB that he can build a bond with in the same way that he connected with Kirk Cousins over the last two seasons. The question keeps coming up, though, about whether the QB needs to fit him or he needs to fit the QB. He called the concept of molding a system to a player “overblown” but noted that a team “better be sure” if they are building the offense around a quarterback’s running game.

“I would just caution folks in understanding that the NFL will and always will be a passing league and the skill sets to impact the game that I see continue to be guys that can play in on rhythm, on schedule, but also allow their athletic ability to change the game from a standpoint of making plays that maybe other people can't,” O’Connell said.

There is another aspect to the Vikings’ QB decision that needs consideration: Where receiver Justin Jefferson stands on the matter. While O’Connell said he does not believe that the team’s route at QB will have any impact on contract negotiations this offseason, he did say that he’s been in communication with Jefferson regarding Cousins’ exit and the QB decision.

"He's been informed, he's been in the loop, he's been aware.... that's really been through this whole process,” O’Connell said, adding that he’s expecting Jefferson to build on the leadership role with the captaincy he earned last year.

So off we go. Into the great unknown. Over the next month the Vikings’ head coach will be all-in on making a decision that will shape the future of the franchise. Between now and then it seems there is a lot to sort through.

“There are so many layers to it,” O’Connell said.

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