The Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings traded up to No. 3 and No. 10, respectively, for quarterbacks in Chad Reuter of NFL.com’s latest mock draft.
Indianapolis moved up from No. 4 to No. 3 in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals to select Florida’s Anthony Richardson. That ended a run on quarterbacks in the top three spots, with the Carolina Panthers choosing Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud before the Houston Texans selected Alabama’s Bryce Young.
Reuter then predicted the Vikings to go from No. 23 to No. 10 to select KentuckyR 17;s Will Levis in the Philadelphia Eagles’ old spot.
Stroud, Young, Richardson and Levis are widely considered the top four quarterbacks in the draft in some order. The latest consensus big board from NFL Mock Draft Database has Stroud No. 1 overall among all prospects followed by Young at No. 2. Richardson follows at No. 4 with Levis at No. 9.
Many mock drafts have Stroud and Young going first and second, respectively, to quarterback-needy teams in Carolina and Houston. The question is where Richardson and Levis will land.
Indianapolis taking either Richardson or Levis makes too much sense given that the team has started someone different at quarterback each of the past six seasons in Week 1. The Colts need a long-term option and franchise signal-caller to break that trend.
The Vikings are an interesting option for a rookie quarterback. Starter Kirk Cousins is coming off his second straight Pro Bowl, but he’s entering a contract year and will turn 35 years old in August.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported on March 12 that nothing was imminent regarding an early extension and that it was “quite possible” Cousins would play out the final year on his deal.
The first round of this year’s NFL draft will occur on Thursday, April 27, in Kansas City.