During my first two articles (which you will find here – Part 1 and here – Part 2) I talked about Kirk Cousins’ career, and if there were any quarterbacks in the NFC that the Vikings could get. Today in part three, I will be looking at quarterbacks the Minnesota Vikings could realistically get out of the AFC. These quarterbacks will be Matt Ryan, Mac Jones, Tua Tagovailoa, Ryan Tannehill, and Trevor Lawrence. I will look at what they did in 2021 and anything else worth noting, and lastly determine whether or not the Vikings should/can trade for them. Now onto Matt Ryan.
Matt Ryan
This past offseason Matt Ryan left the Atlanta Falcons and is now the quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts. Last season with Atlanta, Ryan started 17 games going 7-10. He had a completion percentage of 67%, throwing for 3,968 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions with a passer rating of 90.4. The Falcons and Ryan have both struggled since their Super Bowl appearance in 2016. After losing Kyle Shanahan, Ryan has struggled to do what he did in 2016. He had a completion percentage of 69.9%, throwing for 4,944 yards, 38 touchdowns, and seven interceptions with a passer rating of 117.1. He has only put-up numbers like that one other time in 2018. While he has still put-up good numbers year in and year out, he still hasn’t been able to produce at his MVP form.
Would I trade for Matt Ryan if I were the Vikings? No. While Matt Ryan is a good middle of the pack quarterback and can do great things when the team and coaches around him are right, he just isn’t worth trading for. Kirk is a better quarterback than Ryan. While he does have good postseason experience, he hasn’t proven that he can consistently put-up numbers like those in 2016. Ryan is also 37 years old and is going into his 14th season in the NFL. Cousins on the other hand is 33 years old, four years younger than Ryan. This isn’t a tough choice, pass.
Mac Jones
Mac Jones is entering his second season in the NFL. Jones started 17 games with the Patriots going 10-7 and helped lead them to the playoffs. He had a completion percentage of 67.6%, throwing for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions with a passer rating of 92.5. Jones hasn’t looked great at training camp so far this season (though that could be more of a coaching problem than him). With the implementation of a new offense, there have been some concerns in Boston.
Would I trade for Mac Jones if I were the Vikings? No. While I would be very intrigued to see how Jones would do with an offensive minded head coach, I haven’t seen enough that would make me want to take a gamble on him. If I could get him for a late round draft pick, then I would consider it. I would have him come in and sit behind Cousins for the season, learn the offense and see if he could be a suitable replacement or not. Another pass.
Tua Tagovailoa
Tua is entering his third season with Miami. He started in 12 games last year going 7-5. Tua had a completion percentage of 67.8%, throwing for 2,653 yards, 16 touchdowns, and ten interceptions with a passer rating of 90.1. In his two years in Miami, he has yet to really do anything special. Tua is in a prove it year, receiving a lot of criticism so far. Having additions to his team like Tyreke Hill should help. Now having weapons, he appears to have what he needs to show everyone if he can really succeed in the league.
Would I trade for Tua Tagovailoa if I were the Vikings? No. Tua has yet to prove he can be any more than a mid-low-level quarterback at this point. He finally will have what he needs to prove what he can do, but until then I wouldn’t take that risk. While he would have the weapons he needs in Minnesota, I wouldn’t be starting him over Cousins. I don’t think I would trade for him just to sit behind Cousins either. There are better options out there. Easy pass.
Ryan Tannehill
Tannehill is going into his fourth season in Tennessee. Last season Tannehill played in 17 games going 12-5 leading the Titans to the playoffs. He had a completion percentage of 67.2%, throwing for 3,734 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions with a passer rating of 89.6. Tannehill has pretty decent mid-low average numbers. He has only thrown for more than 4,000 yards twice in his career (2014 and 2015) and has thrown for more than 30 touchdowns once. The Titans and Tannehill have relied heavily on Derrick Henry and the running game in Tennessee.
Would I trade for Ryan Tannehill if I were the Vikings? No. It was a bit tempting at first glance, but when you really look at it, Kirk is the better quarterback. While I am intrigued to see how Tannehill would do with the Vikings roster (specifically with their receiving core), his consistency doesn’t sell me on him. The Titans success with him is mostly due to Henry. All-in-all another decent quarterback, but another pass.
Trevor Lawrence
Lawrence is entering his second season in the NFL. His rookie year didn’t go quite as planned in Jacksonville, starting 17 games, and going 3-14. He had a completion percentage of 59.6%, throwing for 3,641 yards, 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions with a passer rating of 71.9. While not a pretty look, remember the Urban Meyer disaster. Lawrence has always been used to winning, whether it was high school or college. Lawrence has what it takes to succeed in the NFL, whether or not that is in Jacksonville has yet to be seen. Reports from the Jaguars coaching staff have said he is making great strides at camp, which is a good sign.
Would I trade for Trevor Lawrence if I were the Vikings? Yes. It would be hard for me to start him over Kirk right away and he may even have to sit behind him for the season. A year on the bench for Lawrence to learn the offense wouldn’t be bad. I would look for opportunities to throw him into games because I would really want to see what he can do. Jacksonville isn’t going to want to give him up and it would cost a lot to get him. If he showed signs of what people said he would look like, it would be hard to not pay the high price for Lawrence. Would I trade for Lawrence? Yes, depending on what Jacksonville’s wants, deal.
Summary
All-in-all, not a whole lot different than the NFC. The only quarterback I would trade for would be Trevor Lawrence. Tannehill and Ryan are both mediocre and aren’t better than Cousins. Jones and Tua are both young and unproven, being too big of a risk. Lawrence, while a concerning statistical first year, I’m still intrigued. Would I start him right away? Probably not. I feel more confident in Kirk than Lawrence as of this moment but would want him to play during the season when possible. I would trade for Lawrence over Fields (the only quarterback I would trade for out of the NFC realistically). Both would be expensive, but I would feel better paying the price for Lawrence than Fields.
With all that said, it seems an unlikely situation for the Vikings to go get someone, especially when the teams who have the best options are unlikely to give them up or have a very high asking price. The Vikings will have to wait for the next Russell Wilson or take a chance and try to draft their future quarterback. For now, we have Kirk Cousins, a good quarterback looking for a big year with new coach Kevin O’Connell. We’ll have to wait and see what Kirk does this year and whether or not he continues to play well enough to stay in Minnesota.
