Cold Water Poured on Vikings Trade Theory with Patriots
Maybe the Minnesota Vikings trade around the bend won’t involve the New England Patriots after all?
Cold Water Poured on Vikings Trade Theory with Patriots
That’s the world from NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah following the Vikings’ mighty trade last Friday. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah pulled off a ground-shaking swap, sending two 2nd-Round picks to Houston for the Texans’ 2024 1st-Rounder (Pick No. 23) and a late-round pick swap. Most believe a follow-up trade into the draft’s Top 5 is around the bend, anytime between now and April 25th.
But according to Jeremiah, the more likely trade partner is the Washington Commanders — not the Patriots, as many Vikings fans theorize.
Jeremiah said a few days ago on The Zach Gelb Show, “I believe it’s likely that Washington stays and takes one of those two guys. But I would think Washington, of the two (the Commanders and Patriots), would be more likely to at least listen because of what they need on that roster and where they are.”
A colossal compensation package will be necessary for the Vikings to trade up, certainly two 1st-Round picks and probably a lot more. And that applies to deals with Washington and New England. It’s just a matter of which team for Vikings fans at the moment, and there’s no guarantee that either team will do business.
Jeremiah added, “When you have Kliff Kingsbury, he could say, ‘You give me a huge haul of picks, I can make it work with McCarthy, Bo Nix or Penix – like these guys are point guards, and let’s build up the rest of the roster.'”
Minnesota’s next quarterback — in addition to patchover solution Sam Darnold — seems like a two-horse race between North Carolina’s Drake Maye and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy. After the Vikings trade with Houston on Friday, McCarthy actually feels like the bottom floor of realistic expectations.
“So, between those two — Washington, New England — it feels to me like Washington would be the one that maybe would at least listen to what these offers are,” Jeremiah concluded about the Commanders-or-Patriots trade stakes.
The Vikings haven’t drafted a quarterback in Rounds 1 or 2 since Teddy Bridgewater, and that was 10 years ago. They’ve also never drafted a passer in the Top 10, so the time may be ripe for change, especially with Kirk Cousins leaving the organization after six seasons.
According to Todd McShay, another Vikings trade feels likely, “The Vikings don’t make this move unless they’ve already had serious discussions with a specific team re: what it will take to move up for the QB they desire (presumably not named Caleb or Jayden). So is it NE at 3 (for Maye)? Or a team picking a couple/few spots down (for JJ)?”
Therefore, it’s a matter of when: before or during the draft. And who: the Commanders or the Patriots? Or perhaps the Cardinals (Pick No. 4) or Charges (Pick No. 5)
Jeremiah is leaning toward the Commanders as the likely candidate near the top of the draft.
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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 Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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