The Vikings arrive at the week before the 2023 NFL draft in the market for a quarterback, but not in immediate need of one. That's a markedly different position from the past two times they selected a QB in the first round.
In 2011, they entered the draft in open pursuit of a quarterback following the 2010 collapse that ended with Brett Favre's final retirement. Rick Spielman, then the team's vice president for player personnel, used the 12th overall pick on Christian Ponder to be the team's long-term quarterback. Ponder lost his starting job in 2013, and coach Leslie Frazier was out of a job after the season.