The Minnesota Vikings signed Matt Cassel to a new deal this offseason and it's possible a trade of Christian Ponder to a team like the Cleveland Browns or Jacksonville Jaguars could be going down if the Vikes decide to draft a quarterback in May and names like Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles as well as Derek Carr, David Fales, AJ McCarron and Jimmy Garoppolo could be in the mix for GM Rick Spielman.
The Vikings had a rough year in 2013 after making the playoffs the previous season and the team now has seemingly given up on former first round pick Christian Ponder, as Cassel has the handle on the starting job after he opted out of his contract to become a free agent. The Vikings signed him to be the starter for this year and likely next season after he played well in 2013 and now the team could draft their heir apparent in May, as they have been looking at players like Fales and Carr very closely. According to ESPN.com, the Vikings scouted Carr at his pro day for Fresno State and they also met privately with QB David Fales.
The Vikings could look to take a quarterback in one of the later rounds if Teddy Bridgewater, Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles are gone by the time they pick in the first round and since there is a deep class this year, there is a good chance they will be around when the Vikings select on the back end. The team liked Fales and his makeup and he is coming off of a very productive season, as he passed for over 4,000 yards and had 33 touchdowns and that could translate into a selection for the Vikings. ESPN.com writer Ben Goessling reported that Fales was very solid at his San Jose State pro day, hitting on 52 of 53 passes that he threw and the report says that he is just one of "10 different quarterbacks" that Spielman will be looking at.
From that observation, it's a good bet that the Vikings take a quarterback in the draft, but after signing Cassel it's more likely that it will be a late pick rather than one in the first round. One player that may not be around when the Vikings want to pick a QB is Carr, as he has been moving up draft boards since the end of the season and many see him as the fourth or fifth best QB after the top three names in Manziel, Bortles and Bridgewater this year. Carr passed for over 5,000 yards last season and had 50 touchdowns and he had over 20 teams at his pro day for Fresno State.
Some have speculated that Carr could sneak into the top 10 with solid workouts, but many predict him as a late first round pick or a second round pick heading into the draft. Carr was sick according to ESPN.com at his pro day, but he powered through it and ended up hitting his first 46 throws of the day. The Vikings to fill a number of holes on offense this offseason and the draft could be the perfect way to do that.
