Vikings Now Have Private Workout Scheduled With Jayden Daniels

The Vikings finally have a private workout scheduled with the LSU Heisman-winner.

Mar 1, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Louisiana State quarterback Jayden Daniels (QB01) talks to the / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

It's unclear why it took this long, but the Vikings finally have a private workout scheduled with LSU quarterback and reigning Heisman winner Jayden Daniels, as Ian Rapaport of NFL Network first reported. It'll take place next Thursday in Louisiana, according to KSTP's Darren Wolfson.

Over the past couple weeks, the Vikings held private workouts with UNC's Drake Maye in Chapel Hill, Michigan's J.J. McCarthy in Ann Arbor, Washington's Michael Penix Jr. in Seattle, and Oregon's Bo Nix in Eugene. That's all of the projected first-round quarterbacks in this draft except for Caleb Williams (who is going No. 1 overall to the Bears) and Daniels. Now they'll get to go through that process with the former LSU star as well.

The Vikings value these private workouts because they can get the quarterback in a classroom setting, coach them up, and see how they respond. Then they get to evaluate how the player takes the coaching in the room and translates it into a workout on the field. They reportedly put Penix through a workout of more than 100 throws, which suggests they're doing that for all of these quarterbacks.

We can't simulate a pocket and different things like that, but we can simulate what it is like to be in a classroom environment," GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said on Thursday. "We can simulate what it's like to maybe give a coaching point and see how they respond to it and different things like that. So, we're looking for the nuance of that dynamic, knowing that we're going to lean on the film and hundreds and hundreds of snaps that we've watched on the rest of it. So that's what we try and gain from those interactions. And it's great to see people, one after the other after the other, to compare, to see what they're like. And I think the great thing about our building is we have an appreciation for players and people that they get to different answers. They don't get to the same answer the same way. And so, you know, one person might be a little bit more advanced, maybe because they came from a pro system, but you look at the underlying process underneath and see how they learn, how they respond, how they get to answers, that's a really cool thing to see up close as well."

Daniels is projected as a top-three pick in this year's draft, but who's to say there isn't a scenario where Maye and McCarthy are taken ahead of him and he becomes a target for the Vikings in a trade-up situation? Minnesota is preparing for every possibility ahead of the critical first round on April 25th. Daniels, 23, threw for over 3,800 yards last season, with 40 passing touchdowns and just four interceptions. He also ran for over 1,100 yards and ten touchdowns. Daniels is an electrifying runner with a beautiful deep ball, but some analysts have concerns about his consistent intermediate accuracy and his tendency to subject himself to plenty of big hits in the open field.

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