With the Reese’s Senior Bowl having come and gone, NFL draft season is officially underway. That means we will get a ton of mock drafts with different directions that teams like the Minnesota Vikings can go. For this one, The Draft Network’s Keith Sanchez dropped his post-Senior Bowl mock draft, which had Minnesota finding their next franchise quarterback.
With the 11th pick, Sanchez had the Vikings choose Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
At the Senior Bowl, Michael Penix Jr. showed that he can work under center and that’s exactly what the Vikings’ front office needed to see. In Minnesota, Penix Jr. would have two high-level weapons to throw the ball to along with one of the best play-callers in the NFL.
In Tyler Forness’ most recent mock draft roundup, Penix was shown to be the quarterback most pundits in the sports media world would take for the Vikings.
Penix had a season to remember in Washington’s final year in the Pac-12, throwing for just under 5,000 yards (4,903) with 36 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Penix didn’t participate in the Senior Bowl game but was the best quarterback in the practices leading up to it.
If the Vikings decide not to resign Kirk Cousins, this could be the route the front office takes to start the next era of football in Minnesota.