Rick Spielman: Vikings Trying to be “As Aggressive as [they] can Tonight” thanks to Draft Capital

Zimmer and Spielman talking
Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports.

The Minnesota Vikings traded down from the 25th pick last night to the 31st and landed two more picks, meaning that they (as of the writing of this article) will have had 14 picks when all is said and done with the 2020 draft. That is, of course, unless they make more moves before things are said and done and according to this report from ESPN that sounds like that’ll be exactly the case.

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman spoke to ESPN reported Josina Anderson and said of tonight (and presumably tomorrow):

“We’re trying to be as aggressive as we can tonight because of the amount of capital we have, If there are players still there in the upper echelon of the second/third round once we finalize our game plan that’s a definite possibility.”

That might confuse those in the Vikings writer/fan community that were bewildered by the pick of (especially) LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson at 22 Thursday Night, as it was widely thought that the “upper echelon” receivers were off the board at that point and that the Vikings could’ve had similar value later in the first, or even at some point tonight, considering the so-called historic depth at the position in the ’20 draft.

That does assume that the Vikings felt the same way about Jefferson, who had a monster 2019 season amassing over 1,500 yards and 18 touchdowns for LSU out of the slot. Clearly they didn’t feel that way (or felt that they needed to replace Stefon Diggs). That historic depth doesn’t exist at other positions, obviously, and so don’t be surprised if the Vikings do trade up to get help on the offensive or defensive lines, or even if they end up trading one of their 12 remaining picks for disgruntled offensive tackle Trent Williams.

Join our live chat as we navigate tonight’s action and let us know your thoughts on the 2020 Draft!

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