Today, the Minnesota Vikings hold the 11th and 23rd picks in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft. It’s widely assumed they’re planning on packaging those picks — and perhaps future picks — to trade up with a team in the top five to get their quarterback of the future following the departure of Kirk Cousins in free agency.
While it’s no secret the Vikings are in the market for a quarterback, how they’re going about evaluating the choices and narrowing down the options is somewhat intriguing. According to a report from ESPN insider Matt Miller, the Vikings have opted to skip out on the Pro Day workouts for the top choices.
Miller points out in the latest ESPN draft buzz piece that neither the Vikings front office nor head coach Kevin O’Connell has attended the Pro Day workouts for the top quarterbacks in this class. Instead, the Vikings have scheduled in-person workouts with five of the top six quarterbacks, only skipping out on presumed top pick Caleb Williams.
Miller reports that a source with the team says they want to “see them work out in a more intimate setting…Get them a little uncomfortable running our workout vs. theirs.”
Pro-day workouts have been an integral part of the NFL Draft process for years, and they have served to elevate players who had great workouts — sometimes to disappointing results. The Vikings, likely looking at situations like Zach Wilson’s from a few years ago, maybe trying to avoid that by getting a feel for the players in a more controlled environment.
It’s an interesting decision on their part. We’ll see in two weeks—and again in a few months when the players actually get on the field—whether or not that decision pays off.