QB options for 2024?

Not so sure about that, Seems like Arthur will have the last say in decisions now. He said Morris and the GM will have to report to him for final say.

Interesting prospect that won't be drafted too high. Has an NFL arm for sure. Not Ideal height (6'1) but nice size at 220. Key with him is attitude (although at SC didn't seem to be an issue). And can he play less hero ball instead of taking the intermediate options. Someone will be convinced they can work with his tools, and if he ends up in the right coaching situation could be a steal.

There are a lot of new HCs in the league like the ones picking #2 and #3, right now I'd anticipate the Patriots take Daniels at #3 and then the Falcons are left to reach on McCarty/Penix/Nix, or they could do what we are considering by offering Kirk the market value. Then they feel less pressure to take one of those QBs, and potentially use their 2nd to pick one and have them ride the bench for a year or two, Jordan Love style. I don't see what's "nuts" about that.

You mustve missed this. Mr Blank will have the last say. Likely the reason BB didnt get the job and full control. I agree with what your saying but maybe Arthur doesnt want to go with the rookie route.

I think the issue is whether or not Daniels is worth taking at 4/5. We'll get a better picture once the combine plays out. If Atlanta is scared of cost, they may try and get Fields from Chicago for a much cheaper price and keep their pick to fill a more pressing need leaving one less suitor for Cousins (though if SF loses on Sunday and QB play is a big reason, I would not at all be surprised if they made a huge play for him).

It has hit the news that Kwesi is exploring trade up options. Truthfully he should be. He should be looking at trade down options too. I wouldn't read much into either at this stage of the game. He's doing his homework as they have been identifying guys they will likely draft, and if said guys make it to a certain place, I'm sure they will pull the trigger on getting said player. Daniels (if he's one of those guys) probably doesn't make it to 11.

The other question is whether Nix/Penix/McCarthy/Rattler are worth a top 10 pick. From the sounds of it (as of now at least) the answer is that most of those guys would be a reach at 11, some significantly so... If they are the answer, we're either holding or quite possibly getting some day 2/3 picks and moving back. I'm not going to pretend to know the answer. I want this team to do their homework, identify the guy, and make their move. I don't want them to sell the farm.

I've watched enough of him for the past 3 years to form a "general" opinion and my 50,000-ft take is this: he's just not "the guy". What I mean by that is that he's had plenty of chances at Oklahoma and at South Carolina in bigtime/primetime games to prove he can rise to the challenge and for the most part, he hasn't risen to meet them. His best college games were late in the 2022 season when they rocked Tennessee (game where Hendon Hooker suffered his ACL) and then the following week vs Clemson - those were bigtime atmospheres and Rattler showed everyone the talent he has - but we haven't seen enough of those types of performances consistently enough to make me believe he can perform at that level week-in/week-out at the NFL level. And I'm not buying the excuse that South Carolina had a bad team in 2023: yeah, their OL stunk it up and their defense lost some players to the NFL after '22, but really good NFL-level QB's stand-out even on bad teams and Exhibit A is Shadeur Sanders, who literallly had a worse OL/defense around him and he still looked really, really good, evne if Deion's team lost after the hot start.

Another thing that gives me pause about Rattler is the opinion that he could be one of the few QB's under the tutelage of Lincoln Riley and his QB-friendly offensive system who's play "worsened" the longer he was in it. While many colleges/universities are known for developing NFL-talent at certain positions (Iowa is "TE U", and Ohio St/LSU are sometimes called "CB U" and/or "WR U"), there really isn't one college/university that has consistently developed really good NFL starting-level QB's, and the lone exception has been Lincoln Riley. Here's the QB's Riley has "developed" or worked-with during his time as HC at Oklahoma/USC: Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts, Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams. One of those QB's isn't the same as the others and it's not Baker Mayfield, who continued to grow/develop under Riley - it was Rattler, who looked solid in Yr 2 (2020), but got benched in 2021 and even looked better in 2022 than he did in 2023 in South Carolina. If you can't consistently make it work in Riley's systme at the college level, it's a "red flag" to me that things aren't going to get any easier at the NFL level.

The guys at WalterFootball and a few other websites who I follow (who are "piped-into" scouts from various NFL teams) report that the NFL really does like Ratter more than the general Draft community does, and it makes sense: Rattler has a bunch of pro-ready tools that not even some of the 1st Rd QB prospects have - a very quick release, good "touch" (unlike McCarthy, who throws fastballs on 5 yd routes, Rattler has shown how to deliver a good ball in different situations), arm strength, solid mobility and ability to make throws outside the pocket/on-the-move. It happens every year: some team(s) sees all the tools and thinks they will be the one to unlock them at the NFL level, and while there are a few QB prospects in that mold who have "hit", more times than not it's the other way around. 

That being said, if the Vikings obtain a 3rd Rd pick in the 2024 Draft from trading down a bit from the 11th spot in Rd 1 and select Rattler with that 3rd Rd pick, it's not like they would be losing a massive investment if Rattler failed to develop in the NFL - it's not like they took a big swing and miss on a Trey Lance type of pick at the top of Rd 1, so it wouldn't set the team back massively. I certainly wouldn't hate that selection in the 3rd w/ the notion that he "redshirts" in 2024 and try to soak-in as much NFL-level "experience" as he can before possibly competing for the QB1 job in 2025. 

Ultimately though, I do tend to agree with FSUVike regarding the Day 2 QB's (ie, the tier of QB's below McCarthy/Nix/Penix, Jr., which consists of Michael Pratt, Jordan Travis and Spencer Rattler) as I've seen Jordan Travis perform in bigtime game situations the last 2 seasons and he's just gotten better and better. He's not a "dominating" the opponent on his own, but he really commanded the FSU offense in the 2nd half of the '22 season and really into '23 - I was really impressed w/ his 2nd half performance in the LSU opener in 2023 at Orlando (and equally unimpressed with Daniels' 2nd half performance). This is a really good ESPN article (link) from late Sept 2023 that I shared during the 2023 College season in the College/Draft subform that's worth reading and features a good background on Travis and his journey from Louisville to FSU to nearly quitting and responding to challenges that he overcame to get to where is today. It's obvious that Travis doesn't have all the physical talents of a Caleb Williams or possibly even a Spencer Rattler, but given his journey and the way Travis has played in '22/'23, I'd take Travis over Rattler on Day 2 to "redshirt" in 2024 and get ready to lead the team in 2025. He reminds me more of early Russell Wilson during his first 4 years with the decision-making - just smart commanding of the offense without all the bells and whistles. 

I'm interested how Rattler will perform at the Senior Bowl when he's up against Pratt (a fellow QB prospect in his "tier") and Nix/Penix Jr. who are in the tier above his; will the reports out of practice look good and give him praise for his tools and how "coachable" he might be, or will he wilt under the shadow of the other QB's there? Rattler's stock could possibly be raised with a solid week in Mobile.