49ers vs. Vikings: 4 sneaky-good storylines to watch in preseason bout
By Peter Panacy
Storyline No. 3: 49ers defense matching up against Vikings QB Kellen Mond
We’ll revisit Samuel Womack in a bit. But, way back prior to the 2021 NFL Draft and the eventual 49ers’ selection of Trey Lance, now-Vikings quarterback Kellen Mond was someone who popped up on Niner Noise’s radar as a potential day-two signal-caller the Niners could potentially select.
Lance’s drafting put an end to that, and Mond subsequently landed with Minnesota in Round 3 and subsequently spent his own rookie season behind starting quarterback Kirk Cousins, logging only three pass attempts in year one.
With Cousins still entrenched in Minnesota, Mond is battling it out with fellow Vikings backup Sean Mannion, and one could make the argument the former was Team Purple’s best offensive performer in the 26-20 exhibition loss to the Las Vegas Raiders last Sunday.
All Mond did was to go 9-of-14 for 119 yards, two touchdowns against zero interceptions with a 130.7 passer rating.
San Francisco frustrated Packers backup quarterback Jordan Love to a good degree last weekend, and it’ll be interesting to see if the 49ers can spoil Mond’s strong start to his sophomore season, too.
Especially considering the Niners are already shorthanded within their secondary in an otherwise meaningless game.
It will mean something to the rookies, though.