Welcome to SKOL Search 2023: a series dedicated to who the Minnesota Vikings could draft in the NFL draft.
Throughout the course of last season, we brought you scouting reports, mock drafts and different scenarios under this banner and will continue that this season with an expanded format.
This year, the banner of SKOL Search will cast a much wider net. Every week, there will be a roundup-style breakdown of major prospect performances, scouting reports throughout the season, mock draft roundups and much more.
After week one, the quarterbacks were the ones that stole the show.
Florida QB Anthony Richardson
The Florida Gators have been trying to find a start quarterback ever since Tim Tebow’s last season in 2009. After Saturday’s game against Utah, they seem to have found him.
Hosting number seven Utah in Gainesville, the Gators were overlooked going into the game. The Utes were viewed as a dark horse playoff team and fans were frustrated with the lack of star commitments new head coach Billy Napier was bringing in.
After Richardson’s performance on Saturday night, none of that seems to matter. While the excitement was real from the start, this play got things going.
https://twitter.com/TheRealForno/status/1566222269067759616?s=20&t=Yy6UXbq_h_n_ueODT3zNLA
Richardson is a true dual-threat who runs with both speed and power and has a powerful missile for an arm. The most important element of his game is how the play above starts: a quick, decisive trigger.
He stays pass-first and understands when to break away from structure and make something happen.
His arm is truly something special. The ball absolutely pops out of his hand in a way that would only be comparable to Dan Marino or Josh Allen. It’s a truly special trait.
Going into the season, Richardson had less than 150 touches. He is more tools and projection than anything. Saturday night’s game is just the beginning, but the future is incredibly bright.
North Carolina QB Drake Maye
It isn’t often you see a player comped to one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL during his second-career start, but Maye had the internet buzzing.
https://twitter.com/IanKenyonNFL/status/1566117930202529792?s=20&t=Yy6UXbq_h_n_ueODT3zNLA
Yes, you read that right. Maye was thriving in a similar facet to the emerging superstar in Los Angeles. A similar size at 6-foot-5 and 220 lbs, Maye has the arm talent and movement skills that evoke the Herbert comparisons.
He was slinging it all over the field against the Mountaineers in what is a game-of-the-year contender already. He was astounding, completing 24-of-36 passes for 352 yards and four touchdowns while also running 12 times for 76 yards and another score.
Maye, unlike Herbert, is having his best skillsets utilized with the deep ball and his ability to move both to throw and rush the football. He displays a nice touch on the football while also being able to drive it into tight windows.
Even though Maye isn’t draft eligible until 2024, the excitement is real with the redshirt freshman.
Georgia TE Brock Bowers
Tight end isn’t a position that you take in the first round often. Hell, unless they are special, it’s wise to wait until day two for the position since it can take three years to truly see them become the player they are supposed to.
Make no mistakes, Bowers is that special and has already grabbed the attention of SKOR North and KSTP’s Darren “Doogie” Wolfson.
https://twitter.com/DWolfsonKSTP/status/1566154694203957255?s=20&t=Yy6UXbq_h_n_ueODT3zNLA
The Georgia Bulldog star has been nothing short of excellent during his short time in Athens. Only a true sophomore, Bowers isn’t eligible until 2024 but he will almost certainly rank on the preseason’s top-five draft-eligible prospects this time next year.
In the above clip, Bowers has what you need from a modern-day tight end: high-end blocking skills. He is a physical monster that can take on defensive lineman and can move linebackers and defensive backs in space. The above clip shows you everything you need to know about that element of his game.
As a weapon, Bowers is excellent. He is one of the few tight ends that is trusted to be the ball carrier with jet sweeps. Along with that, Bowers is excellent at both the catch point and creating yards after the catch in the open field.
We still get two more years of Bowers in college but there is no doubt in my mind that he could thrive in the NFL right now.
Arizona WR Jacob Cowing
Every now and then, a player from a G5 school transfers to a P5 school and they immediately open your eyes.
This season, it is former UTEP turned Arizona WR Jacob Cowing.
A smaller player, Cowing is a dynamic athlete in open space with the ability to run crisp, explosive routes. Against a favored San Diego State Aztecs team, Cowing took them to school all over the field tallying eight catches for 152 yards and three touchdowns. He was able to win in the red zone, intermediate and deep against the Aztecs.
Immediately, he and Washington State transfer quarterback Jayden de Laura showed an excellent chemistry in working down the field and that helped head coach Jedd Fisch win his second game in the last two years. The connection that they have could end up leading the Wildcats to a bowl berth and beyond.
