Day 2 NFL Draft Buzz: Vikings a Team to Watch For Liberty QB Malik Willis at 34
As a result of the trade they made in round one, the Vikings are primed to be a major force on the second night of the NFL Draft. They hold a premium pick at No. 34 overall, which falls only behind the Buccaneers at 33 as the second pick of the evening. They also have picks at 66 and 77, which will allow them to add several impact players — and gives them the ammo to move up or down if the value is right.
"My cell phone is always charged," GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said. "We'll take the calls. We'll be ready to pick. We'll be ready either way."
There are several first round-caliber defensive players who could make sense for the Vikings at 34, including Clemson CB Andrew Booth Jr., Washington CB Kyler Gordon, Georgia LB Nakobe Dean, and Houston DT Logan Hall.
But the big story heading into the second round is the fact that Liberty QB Malik Willis — believed by many to be the most talented quarterback in this draft — is still on the board.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapaport, the Vikings are a team to watch when thinking about where Willis might end up.
"This all could come together very quickly for Malik Willis," Rapoport said. "There's a couple of teams that have done a ton of homework on quarterbacks, and even some, maybe, that didn't do as much as others but are an option. I'll give you one intriguing one real high: the Minnesota Vikings. They have Kirk Cousins on a short-term deal, he's going to be their starter this coming year, but...that's something they would at least consider there."
As of last night, my reaction to people asking about Willis at 34 was that I highly doubted it. A lot of that was because of this thought: if the Vikings wanted Willis, why wouldn't they have taken him at 32 (instead of Georgia safety Lewis Cine) to get the fifth-year option?
But it's worth pointing out that fifth-year options became fully guaranteed in 2020, perhaps making that less of a critical thing than it used to be when there was more flexibility. Willis has incredible upside due to his physical tools, so perhaps Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O'Connell will consider rolling the dice and taking him at 34. He could sit and learn under Kirk Cousins for a year or two before potentially taking over.
Still, I remain skeptical. The point about the fifth-year options isn't completely invalid just because they're now fully guaranteed. And the Vikings' leadership has professed over and over that Cousins is their quarterback and that they believe he can lead them to contention.
The more likely scenario involving the Vikings and Willis is that they capitalize on their positioning and get good value out of another move down the board. Rapaport also mentioned the Seahawks (who have picks 40 and 41), the Falcons (43), and the Lions (46) as teams who have done a lot of homework on Willis.
I'm not sure the Vikings will want to make another trade with the Lions that allows them to grab a potentially franchise-changing quarterback, but the Seahawks, Falcons, and other teams could make sense as trade partners. That would allow them to jump ahead of the Titans, Giants, and Texans, who hold picks 35-37 and could all be in the Willis market. If the Vikings can get a strong return in a trade like that, they'd still be able to land a good player in the 40s while also accumulating additional draft capital.
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