MINNEAPOLIS -- Vikings general manager Rick Spielman and offensive coordinator Norv Turner took their quarterback search to the West Coast on Thursday, being spotted at Fresno State for Derek Carr's pro day. They'll reportedly stay out west on Friday, to take a look at San Jose State quarterback David Fales.
The Sacramento Bee reported Fales has a private workout scheduled with the Vikings for Friday, after he hit 52 of 53 passes in his pro day workout on Wednesday. Spielman had said the Vikings planned to take a look at 10 different quarterbacks, so it shouldn't be a major surprise that the Vikings would spend some time with Fales while they're in the area.
Fales is projected by many to be a mid-round pick in this spring's draft, but he's won favorable reviews because of his accuracy. ESPN NFL analyst Trent Dilfer, who was at Fales' pro day on Wednesday, called him a "Trent Green clone," and if that comparison to the former Redskins, Rams, Chiefs and Dolphins QB sticks in your head for any reason, it should be because Green got his first chance to start in 1998, when Turner was coaching the Redskins. In fact, when I was talking to Turner for our Hot Read piece on quarterback evaluation, he named Green as the quarterback whose improvement most surprised him in his years as a coach. We obviously don't know at this point if Turner saw the same comparison as Dilfer, but if he did, it might help him project how Fales would fit in his offense.
It's likely the Vikings will get face time with most of the top quarterbacks in this year's draft as they try to figure out their future at the position, but Fales could be a name to keep in mind if the middle rounds of the draft roll around and the Vikings are still looking for a young QB to develop.