With the 2014 NFL Draft fast approaching, the Minnesota Vikings have a lot of work to do and changes that need to be made to get back into the race in the NFC North. The Vikings finished a disappointing 5-10-1 this season and have many holes that need to be filled. The biggest hole however is at the quarterback position where the combination of Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel didn’t instill confidence in anyone during the team’s final season at the Metrodome.
The two-year wait for the new stadium now begins and the Vikings have the No. 8 pick in the upcoming May draft. Many mock drafts have the Vikings selecting someone like Derek Carr or Blake Bortles with that selection. That is probably not the way the team should go however. While Carr did improve his draft stock at the Senior Bowl, the name that pops into my mind as a great fit would be Eastern Illinois QB Jimmy Garoppolo. He isn’t a first-round talent and the Vikings saw what taking a QB in the first round did last time with Ponder.
The defense needs help first before the quarterback position however. The Vikings should spend their first round pick on a cornerback or safety and then go after Garoppolo in the second round with the No. 40 overall pick. It is a move that needs to be made sooner than later and while fans in Minnesota want one of the top two or three quarterbacks, there are simply too many other things that need to get fixed along the way. That’s why waiting on a quarterback is such a smart idea.
There are simply too many questions with the top quarterbacks to take them early on as well. This is why the Vikings must address the defense in the first round. They can’t afford another first round mistake at quarterback. Garoppolo may not be the guy that most Minnesota fans want but he is the quarterback that is the smartest decision and it is even possible that he could slip into the third round but that’s not likely. He has proved what he can do in college and if he can be the next Tony Romo from Eastern Illinois, the Vikings will have made the right decision in the end.