Controversial Vikings Trades with NFC North Teams Depend on Your Lens
Beginning the 2022 NFL Draft, new Minnesota Vikings general manager executed a risky move, trading the 12th overall pick to the Detroit Lions, a division foe in the NFC North.
This was the trade:
Lions Receive:
- 12th Pick (R1) – Jameson Williams (WR)
- 46th Pick (R2) – Josh Pascal (DE)
Vikings Receive:
- 32nd Pick (R1) – Lewis Cine (S)
- 34th Pick (R2) – Traded
- 66th Pick (R3) – Brian Asamoah (LB)
Vikings fans gasped as sliding down the draft board 20 spots was somewhat unexpected. It couldn’t get any more contentious than that, could it?
It could.
To start night #2 of the event, the Vikings traded the 34th pick to the even-more-of-a-rival Green Bay Packers.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1003241″ player=”26279″ title=”WATCH%20Aaron%20Rodgers%20did%20not%20expect%20Packers%20surprising%20Davante%20Adams%20trade” duration=”85″ description=”It seems that Green Bay Packers franchise quarterback Aaron Rodgers was not in the know about the team’s failed contract negotiations and eventual Davante Adams trade.The NFL world was shaken up in March when the Packers surprised many and traded five-time Pro Bowler Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders for draft picks — including the 22nd pick in this year’s NFL Draft. The deal was precipitated by a breakdown in contract extension negotiations after the team slapped a franchise tag on Adams a week before.” uploaddate=”2022-04-29″ thumbnailurl=”undefined” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/1003193/1003193.m3u8″ width=”16″ height=”9″]
Packers Receive:
- 34th Pick (R2) – Christian Watson (WR)
Vikings Receive 53rd and 59th Picks:
**Traded 53rd, 77th, and 192nd pick to Colts**
- 42nd Pick (R2) – Andrew Booth Jr. (CB)
- 59th Pick (R2) – Ed Ingram (G)
- 122nd Pick (R4) – TBD
So, here’s the lay of the land before the start of Day 3:
Others Get:
DET: Jameson Williams (WR)
DET: Josh Pascal (DE)
GB: Christian Watson (WR)
IND: Alec Pierce (WR)
IND: Bernhard Raimann (OT)
IND: 192nd Pick
Vikings Get:
Lewis Cine (S)
Andrew Booth (CB)
Ed Ingram (OL)
Brian Asamoah (LB)
122nd Pick
To the extent trading with NFC North is a problem solely depends on theatrics put forth by Jameson Williams and Christian Watson. That’s all that matters for people.
The Vikings, in return, received Cine, Booth, Ingram, Asamoah, and the 4th-Rounder. But none of those men are marketable, touchdown-scoring wide receivers. They’re fundamental, team-building football pieces, yet wide receivers sell tickets. They’re on commercials. WR jerseys sales supersede defensive players.
Minnesota faces an uphill battle for “who won the trade” because every reception made by Williams or Watson will generate a “damnit, we let that team have that guy” reaction.
Unless onlookers of the trade are NFL gurus, most folks will only remember the WRs in the deal. That’s the way it goes. The totality of careers with Cine, Booth, Ingram, Asamoah, and the 4th-Rounder — years from now — must be compared to Williams, Pascal, Watson, Pierce, Raimann, and the 192nd pick to determine if Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was wise from April 28th to April 30th, 2022.
Your lens must adjudicate each transaction from a long-game perspective — not a “Watson had 103 receiving yards today, therefore, the Packers won the trade.”
That type of patience is rare in The Digital Age.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
Vikings Territory: Ex-Vikings QB Sharpens Longstanding Criticism of Kirk Cousins
You must be logged in to post a comment.