The Vikings may be planning to draft a quarterback, but not Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles or Johnny Manziel with the eighth overall pick.
Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman suggested that his team might be more interested in addressing another position in the first round of the draft, and taking a quarterback on the second day of the draft.
“I think you can find quarterbacks in the second round and the third round, as well,” Spielman told the Star Tribune. “We’ve started that process on the evaluation part. I think we’re scheduled to go out there and see a lot of these quarterbacks through the spring and get to know them a little bit better. The one thing that I want to make sure we don’t do is box ourselves into having to take a quarterback if there’s another player that’s very significant at another position.”
With Matt Cassel signed for another two years, the Vikings may see Cassel as a player who can start this year while helping to groom a young quarterback who would be available on the second day of the draft, such as Jimmy Garoppolo of Eastern Illinois or AJ McCarron of Alabama. Cassel may not be a long-term answer, but he may be a stopgap that gives the Vikings an opportunity to be patient for a quarterback to develop, rather than thinking they need a rookie to start right away.