The Minnesota Vikings were paired with five other teams in an NFL Media report by Ian Rapoport that set up meetings with LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels right after his pro day on March 27.
However, Darren Wolfson of KSTP claims that the Vikings and Daniels did not actually meet.
On March 28, Wolfson stated on SKOR North’s “Mackey and Judd” podcast, “I am informed that meeting did not take place.” There might have been a scheduling difficulty, Wolfson suggested.
The most well-known Vikings staff member there at LSU’s pro day was quarterback coach Josh McCown, who traveled to North Carolina on Thursday to observe Drake Maye, according to Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer. It’s possible that McCown’s schedule to be in Chapel Hill on Thursday did not coincide with Daniels’ availability.
As part of the “private meeting” the Vikings arranged with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy following his pro day last week, head coach Kevin O’Connell revealed on KFAN radio that he will be spending several days with McCarthy this week.
But Daniels did confirm that he would meet with the New England Patriots on Wednesday night following his pro day, according to Patriots team reporter Evan Lazar. This is because the Vikings are shifting their evaluators throughout the nation.
The Patriots, who own the third choice in the draft, are a great team to trade up with, but they may decide to hold onto their current position and choose to pick a quarterback this year.
In the upcoming weeks, Daniels might have a private meeting with the Vikings in Baton Rouge, but for now, it seems like the LSU quarterback and the team aren’t connecting.
Although O’Connell’s nonattendance at pro days garnered some attention in the pre-draft media landscape, the Vikings coach has placed greater emphasis on private consultations.
O’Connell wants to walk this year’s quarterback prospects through what they would face in his system rather than just following the script they are given to follow on their pro days.
On March 26, Star Tribune beat reporter Ben Goessling said, “O’Connell laid out something of a manifesto for how the Vikings will build their quarterback position after Kirk Cousins’ departure during an interview session with Twin Cities reporters at the owners’ meetings on Monday.” “They will give priority to private meetings over pro days where they don’t write the script. In these sessions, they can show potential draft picks around their offense and ask them to execute parts of it on the field right away. The way a quarterback reacts to coaching will be determined by his on-field errors, and the way a player interacts with teammates during on-campus lunches will determine how well he manages the notoriety that comes with the job.
O’Connell is attempting to assess each quarterback’s character in addition to their performance on the field because they will be expected to assume leadership roles in both the community and the locker room.
According to Goessling, O’Connell told local beat writers, “I want to see how they interact with folks.” “They don’t just change the facilities; they build quarterbacks that change the game.” They illuminate every room they enter. When you go through the entire process with such excursions, I believe you can see that they have an authentic impact and that they alter things.
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