MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings drafted Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond on Friday night, finding a potential successor to Kirk Cousins with their first of four third-round picks.
Mond was the No. 66 overall pick, the seventh quarterback off the board after five went in the first 15 selections. Florida’s Kyle Trask went two spots ahead of Mond, who was a four-year starter for the Aggies and has the ability to be the type of dual-threat player that’s all the rage now for his position in the NFL.
The Vikings entered the draft without a second-rounder, due to the trade with Jacksonville that fetched defensive end Yannick Ngakoue near the end of training camp. They flipped him after six games to Baltimore but got only a late third-rounder (No. 90 overall) to cover their losses.
General manager Rick Spielman stayed true to form, though, moving down nine spots in the first round to net two additional third-round picks (Nos. 66 and 86) in a swap with the New York Jets. Their own selection (No. 78) gave them yet another asset to try to jump up into the second round for a higher-rated prospect, but they didn’t bite.
Mond, the MVP award winner of the Senior Bowl after leading Texas A&M to a 9-1 finish in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, is the highest-drafted quarterback by the Vikings since Christian Ponder was their first-round pick in 2011.
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