The Time Is Now if Vikings Want to Make Trades
Dustin Baker
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The NFL’s trade deadline is Tuesday, November 1st, at 4:00 pm EST. If the Minnesota Vikings want in on the fun, the time is now.
Since taking over the big job in January, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has pulled off 10 trades — that’s a lot — illustrating his tendency to enhance the roster with the tactic. In that regard, the next 24 hours should feel like Adofo-Mensah’s playground.
These are the three likeliest roster spots to receive attention via trade if Minnesota pulls the trigger.
Cornerback
Vikings CB Patrick Peterson is conducting a totally resurgent season at the age of 32. His counterpart, Cameron Dantzler, is also performing well.
However, after those two starters, the Vikings employ maybe-caliber players who may or may not excel in a starting role. Minnesota drafted rookies Andrew Booth and Akayleb Evans last April, but it is unclear if either could handle the bright lights of a starting job if thrust into action due to a Peterson or Dantzler injury.
So, the Vikings could have eyes on cornerbacks like Sidney Jones IV (SEA), Sean Murphy-Bunting (TB), or William Jackson III, all men rumored on the trade block.
The problem for any Vikings trade, not limited to corners, is draft capital. Adofo-Mensah has already spent his 4th- and 6th-Rounders from the 2023 NFL Draft via other trades, so the young GM would have to dip in the 2024 draft basket or hope a 2023 5th-Rounder would do the trick.
Tight End
Time is up. Irv Smith will not be blossoming into a Darren Waller type, at least not yet. The fourth-year tight end is a decent pass-catcher, but folks’ hypotheses for Smith as the “next big thing” were incorrect.
And if Smith fell injured in 2022 — he has a mini-precedent for injury — the Vikings would be forced to turn toward Johnny Mundt or Jacob Hollister.
It is unclear if the franchise views those men at TE1s in an emergency.
Therefore, Adofo-Mensah could target a tight end like Albert Okwuegbunam from Denver or hope someone like Kyle Rudolph is released.
Not a Need — but Wide Receiver
Minnesota doesn’t outwardly need extra wide receivers, but the front office is evidently interested, nevertheless.
Chatting with hosts Phil Mackey and Judd Zulgad on a YouTube show last week, KSTP’s Darren Wolfson dropped some intel on the Vikings pursuit of a quasi-big-name WR, “I’ve heard that they’ve spoken with the Denver Broncos, the Washington Commanders, the Houston Texans. They seem to be on the lookout for a receiving target that can stretch the field, whether that be a K.J. Hamler or a Brandin Cooks.”
Assuming Adofo-Mensah desires other pass-catchers, the names to monitor are Chase Claypool, Brandin Cooks, Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore, Denzel Mims, Marquez Callaway, and D.J. Moore.
The Vikings are 6-1 through seven weeks and travel to Washington for a date with the Commanders in Week 9.
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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 Sal Spice. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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