Kellen Mond will turn out to be a steal within five years
The 2021 NFL Draft has come and gone. We saw a lot of teams take their possible franchise quarterbacks of the future. Some players are more of a given for that role than others. One guy that might be overlooked in the conversation of future franchise QBs, is the Minnesota Vikings new backup QB Kellen Mond.
Mond, a four-year starter at Texas A&M, was the 66th pick last Friday. He was the first of the Vikings four third round picks this year. Mond was also one of eight QBs taken between rounds 1-3, which set a record for the common draft era.
To some Minnesota taking a QB in before the 5th round might come as a slight surprise. But that would be more the super casual fan, if at all honestly. If you are any type of fan other than that, then you know that Kirk Cousins, the Vikings current QB, is taking up a lot of cap space. Cousins, a nine-year veteran, is set to make a base salary of $21 million this coming season. In his three seasons wearing the purple and gold, the Vikings have gone 25-21-1, making the playoffs once (2019-20) but lost in the Divisonal round to the San Francisco 49ers.
Mond set records in College Station
As a four-year starter, Mond had plenty of time to prove himself in his home state, while at A&M. Which is exactly what he did, in a big way. Through 46 games with the Aggies, Mond threw for 9,661 yards, 71 TDs, and 27 INTs. Which averages out to about 2,415 yards, 17 TDs and 6 INTs per season.
He left College Station holding more than one team record, with most passing yards and most total yards. Along with being the first Aggie to ever surpass 10,000 total yards. Keep in mind this is a program that has had the likes of Johnny Manziel, and Ryan Tannehill.
Why Mond will be considered a steal
Every few years, experts look back on drafts of the recent past to see if players reached their expected potential or not. It’s usually around the three to five year mark that it actually holds any merit. I think that will be the perfect amount of time for Kellen Mond to show that he should have gone earlier. His athleticism is something that Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer hasn’t had the pleasure of working with under center yet. With a new young OC in Klint Kubiak, there are many possibilities of what we will see Mond do in the purple and gold.
Not to mention the fact that Mond has receivers like Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen to use to his advantage. Along with Cousins most likely being well on his way out after his contract is up. There will be ample opportunity in the next three to five years for Mond to show that he should have gone higher.
-Zach Derosia (@Derosia_14 on Twitter)