National Football League

Should Vikings draft a QB in the first round? And who are their alternatives?

Updated Apr. 11, 2023 12:04 p.m. ET

The bad news: The Minnesota Vikings have just five total picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.

They had only four before they were awarded a sixth-round compensatory pick just a couple weeks ago.

The good news: Those five picks include a first-round pick. And at No. 23 overall, there are plenty of possibilities.

The Vikings could find it beneficial to acquire more picks, just as the Chicago Bears did in 2022. The Bears had six total picks going into the draft, but those didn't include a first-round selection. General manager Ryan Poles then flipped multiple picks, opting to trade down on more than one occasion, and ended up with a draft class of 11 players.

That is certainly on the table for Minnesota, a team with multiple needs on defense as part of new defensive coordinator Brian Flores' scheme. Not to mention, they had to let wide receiver Adam Thielen walk in free agency and are still projected at $2 million over the cap. Draft talent is cheap talent.

Then there's the debate under center. Quarterback Kirk Cousins is entering the last year of his deal and the team has to decide whether to commit to him long-term with another extension or if they're going to roll the dice on a new prospect. The chatter around the draft, thanks to NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah, is that the Vikings would opt to add a quarterback in this year and presumably have him sit behind Cousins for the 2023 season.

Jeremiah had Minnesota taking Hendon Hooker, and it makes sense. Hooker is coming off a significant injury and sitting for a year would allow him to heal and acclimate to the speed of the NFL game just in time for 2024.

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But like we just talked about, the Vikings have very limited capital this year. They have multiple holes to fill if they want to be competitive in a wide-open NFC North this year. Why would they opt to use their most valuable draft asset on a position they don't immediately need? Not to mention the fact that the 2024 quarterback class, featuring Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, is seen by most experts as better at the top than this year's.

Rather than use that No. 23 pick on a quarterback who may or may not pan out, I instead decided to take a look at a few of the players likely to be available at that point in the first round.

Should the Vikings opt to focus on defense, names like Clemson's Bryan Bresee and Pittsburgh's Calijah Kancey were still on the board in most draft scenarios. The Vikings lost Dalvin Tomlinson, somewhat surprisingly, to free agency and have a heavy (no pun intended) need on their defensive interior. Bresee has the pedigree, and following the NFL Combine, Kancey now seems to be everyone's draft darling. He may be undersized but he's from Pitt. That's worked out before.

I don't want to hold him to the standard of living up to Aaron Donald. Virtually no one can. But Kancey is a good prospect in his own right once you flip on the film and see just how quick the 6-foot-1 defensive lineman is and how well he can use his hands to get by blocks and get after the quarterback.

There were some other intriguing defensive names who cropped up, as well. Alabama's Brian Branch is a do-it-all safety who could complement Lewis Cine, who will be entering his redshirt rookie season in 2023 after suffering a compound leg fracture against the Saints in 2022. Between Harrison Smith, whom the team re-signed, Cine and Branch moving all around the secondary, the Vikings would have a diversified skill set befitting of Flores' scheme.

Speaking of that scheme, it's one known for pressure and aggressiveness, which brings in the possibility of Georgia's Nolan Smith. Admittedly, he was only available in one of my mock scenarios and could very well be gone by No. 23, but he would be an excellent edge player, especially if the team does in fact release Za'Darius Smith, despite them initially declining his request a few weeks ago.

It's also worth noting for the defensive side of the ball that the Vikings have the biggest need at cornerback and Maryland's Deonte Banks was available in each scenario I mocked. He's no consolation prize but three corners had already been taken off the board and the value might not be there for the Vikings in that case.

Offensively, Minnesota is going to have to make up for the loss of Adam Thielen, who ended up being a cap casualty. Yes, they have all-world receiver Justin Jefferson and K.J. Osborn has come in clutch on more than one occasion. But those two and Jalen Reagor aren't exactly a murderer's row of wideouts. Names like USC's Jordan Addison and TCU's Quentin Johnston were both available in the back third and could help take some of the attention off of Jefferson just as Thielen did.

What the Vikings do with their limited draft stock this year is going to come down to value. Where Minnesota sees that value will likely be apparent after pick No. 23 on Day 1.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @McKennAnalysis.

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