Dean Dalton doesn’t think the Minnesota Vikings will draft Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn or recruit a free agent quarterback before going to training camp next summer. The Vikings released veteran Brad Johnson earlier this week, leaving the team with 23-year- old Tarvaris Jackson and 27- year-old Brooks Bollinger as the team’s quarterbacks. Combined Jackson and Bollinger have 18 regular season games of NFL experience.
Dalton was an assistant coach with the Vikings for seven seasons, his last in 2005. He continues to live in this area and is making an impressive reputation in the media business where his NFL assignments include writing about the league for ESPN and air time for FSN North and Sirius Satellite Radio. He is following the upcoming college draft and free agency market with scrutiny and passion.
There’s been speculation the Vikings will choose Quinn with their No. 7 pick in the first round. He worked in a pro style system under quarterback guru and Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis. Quinn is likely to be the second quarterback chosen in the draft after JaMarcus Russell of LSU. Oakland, with the first choice in the draft, may take Russell.
Why won’t the Vikings take Quinn if he is available at No. 7? “Because they invested up in the draft last year (trading two picks to get in position to draft Jackson). . . and they have a lot of confidence in him,” Dalton said in an interview with Sports Headliners on Monday. “They have high expectations for him. He has the skills and the intangibles I believe to fulfill them. He’s just raw and needs time to develop. Because of that investment and then the trade for Brooks Bollinger, I would suggest they won’t get a free agent quarterback, and they won’t go high profile (for a) Brady Quinn type.”
Dalton said “there is a pretty big gap” after Russell and Quinn and the next group of quarterbacks available in the draft. “I would look for them to get someone in that group (second tier) and have three young men in a very important role for this team at the quarterback spot going into training camp,” Dalton said.
Dalton expects the Vikings to take a “conservative approach” in the free agency market. He said the talent pool of free agents is without “marquee names” and lacks depth. He predicts the Vikings may try to fill needs, though, at wide receiver, defensive end and perhaps tight end. In the draft Dalton thinks the Vikings “definitely” will look first for a pass rushing defensive end, with interest also in a wide receiver and inside linebacker.