Vikings will take look at Quinn

Though Brad Childress initially said he was set at quarterback for 2007, the experienced Notre Dame QB might be too tempting to pass up in the draft.

By Sid Hartman, Star Tribune

Last update: February 21, 2007 – 10:55 PM


At the end of the 2006 season, Vikings coach Brad Childress made it clear that Tarvaris Jackson, the young quarterback from Alabama State, was going to be the No. 1 quarterback for 2007, with the position not a priority this offseason. Brooks Bollinger would also compete for the position.

However, in later conversations with Childress, he talked about how the Vikings could be looking for a young quarterback to battle Jackson and Bollinger for the starting job, though perhaps not a top draft choice.

Well, the word around the NFL is that the Vikings are going to pay a lot of attention to Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn at the NFL scouting combine, which started on Wednesday in Indianapolis.

Quinn is likely to be one of the players the Vikings will interview to try to find out what makes him tick. If Quinn makes a great impression at Indy and in further workouts, it might be difficult for the Vikings to pass over him if he is available with the No. 7 overall pick.

Quinn started his freshman year and holds many Irish passing records, throwing for 3,426 yards and 37 touchdowns last season. Notre Dame went 30-19 in his four seasons. But after going 5-7 as a freshman and 6-6 as a sophomore, he had records of 9-3 and 10-3 under current Irish coach Charlie Weis, the ex-New England offensive coordinator who had a lot to do with the improvement of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

Todd McShay of Scouts Inc. has the Vikings taking Ted Ginn Jr. of Ohio State with their seventh pick, using Ginn as both a wide receiver and return man.

However, after the bad experience they had taking South Carolina's Troy Williamson at No. 7 overall in the 2005 draft, I expect the Vikings to look for wide receivers in the second round and later.