Aug 17, 2020; Owings Mills, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (78) during practice at Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
For the Minnesota Vikings and their potential, alleged interest in trading for Orlando Brown Jr., this is jolting news:
Brown has been linked to a number of teams via trade amid the last month — and the Vikings are one of them.
Foremost, the Baltimore Ravens employ one of the best left tackles in the NFL, Ronnie Stanley. He was a First-Team All-Pro left tackle in 2019 and then missed time due to injury in 2020. It was Brown that slid over to fill in for the injured Stanley. And the 24-year-old performed admirably, notching a 76.5 Pro Football Focus score in relief duty for Stanley.
Guess what? Left tackles make more money than right tackles. Therefore, Brown has made it known that he is indeed a left tackle — the spot he played in college at the University of Oklahoma.
So, the Ravens essentially have two left tackles, and Stanley isn’t going anywhere.
That’s how the Brown trade chatter was born.
Then on Monday, Rapoport dropped the tweet that the Ravens were hosting Alejandro Villanueva — another left tackle — for a free-agency visit. Why on earth would Baltimore explore Villanueva if Brown was staying put on the right side of the line?
The plot thickened, to be sure.
If the Ravens “don’t let Villanueva leave the building,” well, Baltimore has too many hungry tackles. It would confirm that Brown is probably on his way out via trade.
Enter the Minnesota Vikings.
At the moment, Minnesota has two left tackles that could maybe start and excel — Ezra Cleveland and Rashod Hill. The 29-year-old Hill is a reservist personality, so proclaiming him as a starter is a bit of a stretch. But this is the Vikings — solutions on the offensive line often end up as head-scratchers. On Cleveland, he was a left tackle in college before Minnesota whisked him to guard during his rookie season.
What Brown would offer at left tackle for the next several years is much more of a sure-thing than Cleveland or Hill’s trajectory. That’s why the Vikings are so frequently linked to Brown via trade talks — stability, after several years (almost a decade) of left-tackle mediocrity.
The cost is the interesting part. Bleacher Report recently spitballed this deal: The Vikings send the No. 14 pick, the No. 125 overall pick (4th Round), and a 2022 2nd-Round pick to Baltimore for Brown and the 27th pick in this year’s 1st Round.
That would probably be worth it. The Vikings retain a 1st-Round presence in the draft in 2021, get Brown as a stalwart LT, and sacrifice 13 spots on the draft, plus a 2nd-Rounder next year.
Trading for Brown would kickstart an offensive line that feels like this for 2021:
(LT) Orlando Brown, (LG) Mason Cole / Alex Leatherwood-type / FA like Trai Turner, ( C ) Garrett Bradbury, (RG) Ezra Cleveland, (RT) Brian O’Neill.
Consider that an upgrade from 2020 [and, like, the nine years before that].
View Comments
I want Trey Lance, but that's due to Minnesota never seeming to worries about fixing the Oline. So if trading for Brown means Kirk has time(think he'd look like Drew Brees with time), Well then I'm good with that too.
Love this trade. I don't know how they are going to pay for Brown. But what they are giving up seems well worth what they are getting. They could still get a very good Edge Rusher late in the first. I would like to see Udoh looked at as a left guard. He continues to be forgotten and has proven in short stints he can do it. How much does a guy need to do to get a shot?
The issue with Brown is less what it would take to get him than what it would take to keep him. Supposedly, he wants to be the best paid tackle in football, but is he really that good a LT? I'm worried that we'll be overpaying Brown a lot more than we overpaid Reiff.
Of course that begs the question why don't the Vikings just go after free agent Villanueva? Brown is a good player of course, but seems like he's looking for a massive pay day after next year . I agree with finfineman that it is Udoh's time to shine. PS, OG Trey Smith of Tennesse is my dradft darling. Please Vikings trade up for him second round or he'll be gone.
Lmao look at u trying to be a click bait champion. You took 2 pieces of information and just mashed them together. Look i can do it too, Arrest warrant is out for Aldon Smith. Seattle looking to trade for Brown to play Defensive End. Stop with this you moron. Came back down from mars peter pan.They are not trading Draft capital for a 1 yr rental. They dont have the cap space to resign Brown next yr. His cap number will be too high. Lets just for fun say they did make the trade and even resigned Brown. Now you lose Oneil, Smith, and Barr. Wont have money to get someone to replace Peterson at corner, and now you cant extend Hunter cause you wont have the cap.
So u need to replace right tackle, 2 linebackers, a starting corner, slot corner, and 2 safeties. Smart move thou. Keep em coming.
The smart play here is to sign Villanueva to a 2-3 yr deal averaging 8-9 per season. 70% of it In guaranteed. And have it all guaranteed In the first Yr or two years so the Last year of his contract is at your discretion. Draft a T/G At 14 To play guard this season and then go from there.
I have mixed feelings on this trade. It is definitely a win right now type of trade, that ultimately I would very much enjoy. The impact next year will be tough on the cap and most likely mean the Vikings will have to get extremely creative or will have to part ways with veterans or lose out on some of their FA's. I think either way the Vikings will wait to see who lands in their lap at 14 before making this trade (at least I hope)
I mean , just look at the size of this man. He is ginormous. I can’t get over it. He is absolutely huge...... His old man would be proud to see the way he’s turned out for sure... It doesn’t get more impressive than a pair of probowls at 24.. I would be nothing short of excited for him to land on the team I root for ( Vikings ). I’d even consider buying his jersey.
Let me get this straight. Trent Williams was only worth a 3rd and a 5th, but Brown is worth a 2nd, 4th, and 13 slots in the first round. Dumbest compensation package right after the Herschel Walker trade
Williams and Brown trade compensation cannot be compared on the same level. Redskins reportedly turned down a 1st rounder before Williams held out and ended up out the entire season prior to be traded after the relationship could not be mended.
The idea of Orlando Brown coming over to the Vikings is enticing. Unfortunately, with the money situation on a tight leash, how do you keep the guy. Too many players' contracts are coming due with less than normal capital at their disposal.
If there is a possibility of getting and keeping him, which in my opinion rests on the aspect of restructuring Kirk Cousins' contract, mainly for the reason so we can keep him from eating turf all season. That being said, it's a possibility, however, Kirk would be crowned a hero, a knight in shining armor, if that did in fact happen and the Vikings got their first Superbowl victory.
Unfortunately, it's a long shot and probably not going to get done, at least not this year.
It would be ideal to get a solid LT in the draft at #14. Sewell would be my pick, if it was possible. If the Raiders wish to move up at the cost of a 2nd round pick, that would be great. We could pick up A.V.T. or if Darrisaw is still on the board, plus get a solid DE with our new found 2nd round pick. Ok, maybe a pipedream? But I don't see how getting Brown is any less of one?
All I know is the Vikings have a lot of picks, but they've got to make solid picks.
I think the guys on the O line will improve this year but there is a huge question the needs to be addressed at LT. There are a few other spots that also need to be filled. A WR, a S, a DE, a KR, a TE. What about a real kicker? We haven't had one of those in a long time, since Anderson. That's the deal. We've got 10 picks, so all we can do is hope for the best. Let the guy's do their jobs. SKOLROLL!!!!
The Vikings can find a much less expensive good option in the draft.