Is it easier ... ?

Fun episode of Purple Daily yesterday that Drank posted in another thread. Basically, since 2000 your chances of hitting on a QB decrease dramatically if you are taking one either after the 1st Round or are taking QB4 or later in the 1st.

I think the Bears and Commanders picks at #1 and #2 are untouchable. Certainly the Bears, why would they give a Divisional opponent a shot at a Franchise QB? But Washington as well. Why would Ben Johnson go there just to get stuck with Sam Howell, who got benched at the end of the year?

The Patriots are likely going MHJ. He's the best player in the Draft. There are guys in their Front Office that will be sharing GM duties through the Draft that have been on record talking about how important it is to get a true difference maker at WR. Belicheat whiffed on it forever. And fans are likely higher on Daniels than Scouting Departments.

So that begs the question of should Minnesota do what it takes to get Jayden Daniels at #4 or #5? No. I don't necessarily buy the narrative that O'Connell has never developed a QB. He absolutely coached Cousins up to stay on his primary read longer, take more chances throwing to JJ when he's covered and take less checkdowns unless there's no other option.

I'm not really concerned about Kevin being unable to develop Jayden. The kid has a dynamite work ethic and made a ton of changes from his junior year to his senior year. And he's not a run-first QB. Sure, he'll take off if the pocket sags and the lane is there. But he consistently threw the ball to the 2nd best Receiver in the Draft and another with 1st Round potential.

Why don't I make the trade? Daniels isn't all that good at Intermediate Passes over the middle of the field. He's good at Intermediate throws outside the hashmarks, which is a staple of the O'Connell Offense. But so is over the middle passes.

And frankly, QB3 doesn't have the greatest hit rate either. And Kwesi didn't load up on Draft Capital to lessen the pain of moving up to get Jayden.

This Team simply isn't in a position to go get their guy. Because of the Hockenson trade. Because they didn't move Hunter. Because they whiffed on the '22 Draft Class. Because too many Free Agent signings have busted.

Kirk Cousins isn't the primary reason the Team started 4-4. Kevin O'Connell is. Mr. Know It All got his Starters zero reps in the preseason after a fairly shakey Training Camp where they struggled to get consistent production against Flores' completely novel Defensive schene. And O'Connell did absolutely nothing to improve the awful run game despite getting Kwesi to overpay for a blocking TE and extending a FB that he subsequently barely used.

Cousins cap hit last year was 14th according to Spotrac. Behind Goff. His salary is worth what, 1 and a half better players at other positions at the most? If he comes back for 3 years with only 2 guaranteed that will allow the Front Office to fill holes and stock up for a big move up.

While it's true that I was and remain very high on this QB Class, the more I watch O'Connell's system the more I become convinced that only Maye fits it well. Combine that with the poor history of QB4 and on in Drafts and it just doesn't make sense to do anything other than extend Kirk and invest serious Draft Capital in the Defense and the IOL.

Build the Team, especially the Trenches, then get your guy. Jimmy flipping Garappolo should have won the Superbowl. Goff too. They aren't even at the top of Tier 2 QBs. But they were on loaded Teams. Shanahan and McVay lost those championships because of coaching.