EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The NFL draft is not so much a marathon weekend as it is a season of speculation and subterfuge, a made-for-TV mystery unfolding team by team across the league.

Minnesota’s motive has been clear, actually, for two years. The Vikings are as poised as ever to take a quarterback in the first round.

From the day Kevin O’Connell was hired as head coach, following the arrival of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in the momentous leadership change they made in 2022, the Vikings have been pointed in this direction for this draft.

When they last year declined to give quarterback Kirk Cousins an extension beyond the 2023 season, the path straightened further. Then after Cousins departed as a free agent this spring for Atlanta, the Vikings acquired an additional first-round pick in a trade with Houston to take the 11th and 23rd overall selections into the draft for potential fuel to move up. They even hired Josh McCown, the 18-year NFL veteran, as their new quarterbacks coach.