NFL Insider Explains Vikings’ Next Trade
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings pulled off a big-boy trade five days ago, sending two 2nd-Round picks to Houston for the Texans’ 2024 1st-Rounder (Pick No. 23) and a late-round pick swap.
NFL Insider Explains Vikings’ Next Trade
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is now in firm position to follow up the deal with Houston, probably with another trade between now and the next five weeks.
And according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the next deal is basically inevitable.
Schefter joined The Pat McAfee Show on Monday and opined on the Vikings’ next steps, “The Vikings are definitely interested in making more moves. They’re sitting there right now with picks 11 and 23, and I think a lot of it depends on draft night. I’m making this up, but say they love Jayden Daniels. And say the Commanders go Drake Maye at No. 2 and Jayden Daniels gets to No. 3. You wouldn’t think that they were prepared to go to No. 3, but maybe the guy they want slides to No. 3, and they make a bold play to go up and give up even more than they thought.”
Minnesota has the artillery to move into the draft’s Top 10 spots — probably Top 3 or Top 5 — for its quarterback of the future. Former quarterback Kirk Cousins left the franchise one week ago for the lure of Atlanta money, fetching $180 million from the Falcons over the next four years. Meanwhile, the Vikings signed Sam Darnold, but most believe he’s a patchover plan to the would-be rookie quarterback, likely Drake Maye (North Carolina) or J.J. McCarthy (Michigan).
“You have to see how the board’s unfolding. Do I think they could trade up in advance of the draft? Sure. They’re going to look for it. They have the ammunition to do it. The trade on Friday positions them to go make another move,” Schefter continued.
Adofo-Mensah would not have made the deal with Houston if it didn’t have a clear and evident path to the next trade. Otherwise, the trade could’ve waited until the draft when Minnesota could see the draft lay of the land. Swapping assets with Houston suggests general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will trade up before or during the event, probably to a pick within the Top 5.
Schefter concluded about the Vikings’ draft plans, “There’s no doubt that the Minnesota Vikings are interested in a quarterback. There’s doubt that they’re interested in trying to move up again. And the question becomes: when do they do it and for who.”
The draft is five weeks away, and the purple team hasn’t used a 1st-Round pick on a quarterback since Teddy Bridgewater — 10 years ago.
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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