Dec 10, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell (left) and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah react during the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports.
The Minnesota Vikings are locked in a battle for the NFC North, with four teams showcasing four wins in six weeks.
No division since the 2002 realignment in the NFL has boasted four teams with such win marks entering Week 7, so it’s a brand new beast.
Meanwhile, the NFL’s trade deadline is three weeks away, and out of nowhere, the Vikings can reasonably become buyers — not sellers, as might’ve been the forecast two months ago. Of course, Minnesota doesn’t have much draft capital in 2025 to swing fancy trades after deals required to obtain the draft pick for Dallas Turner, but the 2026 draft cabinet is mostly untouched.
And the Vikings are likely to finagle some kind of trade in the next 22 days for one reason: General Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has done it before.
In 2022, Minnesota owned a 6-1 record at the trade deadline, and Adofo-Mensah conducted a swap with the Detroit Lions. He traded a 2nd-Round pick from 2023 and a 2024 3rd-Round pick to the Detroit Lions for tight end T.J. Hockenson, a 2023 4th-Round pick, and a conditional 2024 4th-Round pick. The move altered modern Vikings history, onboarding its most productive tight end in decades. Yes, even more than beloved former TE Kyle Rudolph.
If Adofo-Mensah were willing to do it then with a 6-1 record, he’d do it again with an 8-0, 7-1, 6-2, or 5-3 standing. The 2024 team is much better than the 2022 squad, and there’s a realistic chance that Adofo-Mensah believes his team can with the chip this year.
So, who can Minnesota target? New England cornerback Jonathan Jones or Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper makes sense.
VikingsTerritory’s Josh Frey recently wrote about a hypothetical Jones trade: “Jonathan Jones has a Brian Flores connection and plenty of playoff experience in New England. Now at 31 years old, he likely isn’t part of the future plans for the Patriots, and now could be the time to deal the veteran CB. Why not to a sudden Super Bowl contender so Jones can chase one more ring?”
The Brian Flores connection is the golden ticket here. If the Vikings want CB depth, this is the guy. The Patriots could hold some semblance of a fire sale near the end of the month.
Too, Cooper is a five-time Pro Bowler and would fit brilliantly in the Vikings’ usually-pass-happy offense. He’s 32 and has tabulated 9,964 receiving yards in his career, plus 62 touchdowns. In 2023, he banked 1,250 receiving yards, so it’s not like Minnesota would be getting a past-his-prime dud. The guy is still the real deal.
If the Browns continue to falter, Cooper could be on the trade block within the next three weeks. And adding him to the Vikings’ roster could make the offense incomprehensibly dangerous.
Other trade targets might include Adam Thielen (WR, Carolina Panthers), Miles Sanders (RB, Carolina Panthers), or Calais Campbell (DT, Miami Dolphins). Some “dream targets”, such as Dexter Lawrence (DT, New York Giants) and Travis Etienne (RB, Jacksonville Jaguars), have been mentioned in fan circles.
On the whole, we’ve seen it before with Hockenson two years ago. Adofo-Mensah won’t be shy about bolstering the depth chart. A diminished draft capital piggybank is merely a surmountable hurdle.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.