Vikings “Dream Trade” Would Make A Lot of Sense
Dustin Baker
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The NFL offseason is off and running, fast and furious, after the Kansas City Chiefs emerged as Super Bowl victors 10 days ago.
Vikings “Dream Trade” Would Make A Lot of Sense
The next step is free agency, kicking off in 19 days with “legal tampering,” when players can chat with teams about 2024 contracts.
The window is already open for general managers to discuss trades, and Bleacher Report published a lengthy article this week detailing one possible swap for every NFL team. For the Minnesota Vikings, that was a seismic trade up the draftboard for a quarterback to kickstart the post-Kirk Cousins era — LSU’s Jayden Daniels.
Cousins could rejoin the Vikings for 2024 and beyond, but if the franchise cannot financially meet in the middle with his representation, he’d hit free agency and perhaps join a team like the Atlanta Falcons or Pittsburgh Steelers, for example. Then, Minnesota would need a new quarterback — in a hurry.
Calling it the Vikings’ “dream scenario,” BR’s Kristopher Knox wrote this week, “According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, the idea of pairing Jefferson with LSU quarterback prospect Jayden Daniels has ‘appeal to some’ within the Vikings organization. It’s a solid plan, though Minnesota can’t expect him to fall to pick No .11. While Daniels is only the 24th-ranked prospect on the B/R board, he’s the No. 3 quarterback and could easily be a top-five pick if there is a scramble to secure signal-callers in Round 1.”
Daniels is expected to go off the board in the draft’s first three picks and perhaps the Top 2 if his NFL Combine performance bedazzles general managers next week.
“Trading up to secure Daniels would be a home-run move for the Vikings, even if it costs them next year’s first-round selection and more. As mentioned, teams don’t appear high on the 2025 QB class, so April might represent Minnesota’s last best chance to solve the long-term QB puzzle until at least 2026. The Vikings can’t afford to wait because Cousins isn’t getting any younger, and Chicago, Detroit and Green Bay are all getting better,” Knox added.
The only drawback — and it’s a mammoth hurdle — to trading up the board for Daniels is the price. The Vikings would have to donate multiple 1st- and 2nd-Round picks to the Washington Commanders or New England Patriots for the pick necessary to land Daniels or North Carolina’s Drake Maye. So, Vikings fans must wonder: is the purple team a young quarterback away from eventually reaching The Promised Land?
On Daniels, few will scoff at the quarterback’s scouting report. He’s young, electric, accurate, big-armed, and stuffed to the gills with upside. His only weakness — this is perhaps grasping at straws — is his frame. He’s 6’4″ and about 200-210 pounds. That’s not ginormous for a player who will tuck and run frequently in the NFL.
If the Vikings effectuate the Bleacher Report dream trade and select Daniels or Maye, it will be Minnesota’s first-ever Top 10 draft pick used on a quarterback.
The NFL Draft is 64 days away.
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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