Vikings drop the Verse in latest ESPN Mock Draft

Yes, we’re still talking about mocks

Another day, another new mock draft to take a look at as we try to figure out what the Minnesota Vikings are going to do when the 2024 NFL Draft gets underway here in a couple of months.

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Behind the great E$PN paywall, analyst Field Yates has put together his first mock of 2024, and he has the purple not addressing the quarterback position, but rather bolstering the defensive side of the ball with Florida State edge Jared Verse.

Retaining Danielle Hunter — soon to be a free agent — would change the outlook on this pick, but losing Hunter, D.J. Wonnum and/or Marcus Davenport in free agency would leave Minnesota razor thin at pass-rusher. Verse is long, has great in-line power and shows a growing set of pass-rush moves to get home. After surprising many and returning to Florida State for the 2023 season, he helped catalyze what was on the short list for the best defense in college football last season, racking up nine sacks.

I mean, to be clear, Davenport isn’t exactly a “loss” and the odds of him being back in Minnesota for anything more than minimum wage (if that) in 2024 are pretty low. But the larger point still stands. . .whether the Vikings lose Hunter in free agency or not, they’re likely going to need pass rushing help, and Verse is a player that would help provide that. He’s Yates’ third edge defender off the board, behind Dallas Turner of Alabama (who goes at #8) and UCLA’s Laiatu Latu (taken at #9).

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So, let’s answer the question that people are going to have about every mock where the Vikings don’t take a quarterback: Who did take them? Well, as we’ve seen in almost every mock, the top three picks all go to quarterbacks, with Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye going off the board in that order. The next quarterback, J.J. McCarthy of Michigan, goes to the Denver Broncos with the pick immediately after Minnesota’s at #12, and Oregon’s Bo Nix goes to Pittsburgh at #20.

What do you think of the Vikings addressing defense in Round 1 rather than jumping on a quarterback, folks?

Insider links Kirk Cousins with AFC playoff team

NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk believes the Pittsburgh Steelers could make a move for quarterback Kirk Cousins assuming Cousins doesn’t re-sign with the Minnesota Vikings.

“If the Steelers are going to do something at quarterback, they are gonna get a veteran,” Florio explained during an appearance on Pittsburgh sports radio station 93.7 The Fan, as shared by Tony Calderone of Steelers Depot and Noah Strackbein of Fan Nation’s All Steelers. “They aren’t going to roll the dice with a bottom third of the first-round draft pick and hope that the guy develops. I was talking to some people last week who seem to be intrigued at the possibility of the Steelers making a play for Kirk Cousins. And those people were very close to, if not within, the Kirk Cousins camp. There’s an acknowledgment that it could happen.”

The Steelers previously have been linked with Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears after Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett at least temporarily lost his QB1 gig to career backup Mason Rudolph this past season. Chicago is widely expected to acquire Fields’ replacement via the first selection of this year’s draft.

ESPN’s Dan Graziano mentioned that Cousins’ contract voids after the deadline for teams to use their franchise tags, meaning Minnesota can only stop the signal-caller from reaching free agency by signing him to an extension before March 12. While the 35-year-old seems willing to stay with the Vikings, his NFL home since 2018, it was suggested when the Atlanta Falcons were speaking with Bill Belichick that Cousins could join Belichick in Atlanta.

Atlanta ultimately hired Raheem Morris over Belichick. On Wednesday, new Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson told reporters that “all options are on the table” regarding the club’s quarterback situation.

“The Falcons and the Steelers are the two teams that I think the Cousins camp is keeping an eye on,” Florio added during the radio segment.

For what it’s worth, Florio has repeatedly hinted that San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan could replace Brock Purdy atop the depth chart with Cousins this spring. Shanahan was Cousins’ offensive coordinator with Washington in 2012 and 2013, and Purdy’s up-and-down playoff performances could cause his coach to consider looking for an upgrade after Shanahan wanted to sign Tom Brady last offseason.

In short, Minnesota has less than a month to convince Cousins to stick around while knowing that interested clubs could give him a ring as soon as March 12.