Kirk Cousins: A Career of Ineptitude

Sure, it's hard to draft a franchise QB - but it is possible. I count 11 teams with starters which they drafted that have been or likely to be multi-year starters. I'm not counting recent draftees who are still uncertain: Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Kenny Pickett, Justin Fields, Daniel Jones, Trey Lance, Malik Willis, Davis Mills. A couple of those will hit and raise the number. Point is, a third of the league drafts a long-term starting QB.

IMO the real problem for fans (and maybe ownership) is that the Vikings NEVER have. Joe Kapp was a CFL import already 29 years old when he got to us. Yes, we drafted Tarkenton - but traded him away and had to trade to reacquire him before his Super Bowl runs. Tommy Kramer was a borderline "franchise QB" but that's in doubt to many fans. The Burns years were marked by fading Kramer and guys like Steve Dils and Wade Wilson. 

Then we reach the Denny Green era, which is our offensive heyday, but we achieved it with a series of castoffs: Jim McMahon, Warren Moon, Randall Cunningham, Jeff George. I suspect this stretch is to blame for many fans thinking, "Great offense doesn't require drafting a QB." Then Denny drafted Culpepper, and results were....mixed. (And we picked him instead of Jevon Kearse, when we needed a pass-rusher but not a QB.) After Daunte, we had 7 journeyman starters in 3 years. Disappointing years...but then we had a great season with a retread named Favre. After Favre, we drafted 2 first-round QBs who failed. By then our GM had given up drafting QBs and went after Stafford and then Cousins.

The Vikings have been to 10 NFCCGs - and only in 1 of them was our starting QB acquired directly through the draft. That single occurrence was 41-Donut in 2000 with Culpepper starting. 

So why would fans of this team believe in drafting a QB?? Is there any other team in the NFL that has never drafted an unquestionably-great quarterback?