The Minnesota Vikings have drafted their quarterback of the future.
It wasn’t Cam Newton.
It wasn’t Jake Locker.
It wasn’t Blaine Gabbert.
It wasn’t Andy Dalton.
It wasn’t Ryan Mallett.
No, the Vikings surprised just about everyone by picking Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder. Surprised? Because I sure am.
Most people had Ponder pegged at the end of the first round or the beginning of the second round. Apparently, the Vikings had him graded much higher.
Ponder had a very good career with the Seminoles, racking up 49 touchdowns and nearly 7,000 yards in his college career. He passed for just over 2,000 yards in 2010 despite missing two games. At 6’3" and 227 pounds with lots of athleticism, Ponder is fairly close to the prototypical build for an NFL quarterback.
Stay tuned for much, much more news and reaction. We are live at Winter Park covering Leslie Frazier’s press conference—I’m guessing he’ll have quite a few questions to address.