5 Vikings Players Who Could Be Traded during the Draft
A healthy chunk of Minnesota Vikings fans expect the team to trade all around the draftboard in two weeks, mainly because general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has just four picks at his disposal.
5 Vikings Players Who Could Be Traded during the Draft
But what if the purple team trades some existing players? That’s always an option on draft weekend.
These are the five likeliest Vikings players to be traded during the draft, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = most likely to be traded).
5. Jordan Addison (WR)
Addison checks in at the “bottom” of this list, per likelihood, because it would just be so bizarre if Minnesota shipped away an electric playmaker who will live on an affordable contract for the next three seasons.
But Addison trade theories are out there and appeared to have been born at the fingertips of a Buffalo Bills reporter. Scouting the Bills’ team needs and trade possibilities, Matt Parrino nominated Addison and Chris Olave of the New Orleans Saints as legitimate trade targets for Buffalo.
It’s just that Addison probably isn’t for sale.
Still, in the event that Minnesota has secretly grown tired of Addison’s driving infractions, it could offload him during the draft, fetching a 1st- or 2nd-Round pick via trade.
This one is basically mentioned for full disclosure. An Addison trade is an extreme longshot.
4. Ty Chandler (RB)
When Vikings football turns the calendar to the summer months, Chandler will instantly become a popular roster cut candidate.
Adofo-Mensah swung an unforeseen trade with the San Francisco 49ers last month for running back Jordan Mason, which might’ve made Chandler, the team’s RB3, expendable. He could be included in a trade package involving picks. His value is likely in the ballpark of a 7th-Rounder.
It doesn’t help his trade prognosis that this particular draft is stuffed to the gills with running back talent.
Chandler, however, showed flashes of promise down the stretch of the 2023 season.
3. Brian Asamoah (LB)
Like Chandler, will any team want Asamoah, a man who rarely plays on defense? Asamoah is an alumnus of Adofo-Mensah’s poor 2022 draft class, and Minnesota seems to go out of its way to prevent the linebacker from experiencing defensive snaps.
Asamoah is a special teams contributor, though, and like Chandler, he could be lassoed in a trade package with some draft picks for another team. That is — if the Vikings need a player to balance out a trade calculator, they could say, “Hey, we’ve got Brian Asamoah for you right here.”
2. Harrison Phillips (DT)
In March, Pro Football Focus identified Phillips as Minnesota’s best trade asset, and to an extent, the theory checked out. Why? Well, all of a sudden, the purple team has a litany of defensive tackles on the roster.
Excluding Phillips, solely for the purposes of this exercise, these are Minnesota’s defensive tackles at the moment:
- Jonathan Allen
- Javon Hargrave
- Jalen Redmond
- Taki Taimani
- Levi Drake Rodriguez
- Travis Bell
- Jonathan Harris
That’s quite a few.
Factor in the possibility of Adofo-Mensah drafting an interior defensive lineman like Walter Nolen, Derrick Harmon, Kenneth Grant, or Tyleik Williams, and Phillips could become an odd-man out.
Minnesota would probably get a 5th-Rounder or so for Phillips.
1. Blake Brandel (G)
Brandel played decently in 2024, especially when Christian Darrisaw played beside him. But Brandel’s efficiency dipped when Darrisaw tore his ACL, and the Vikings vowed offensive guard improvement after an embarrassing playoff loss against the Los Angeles Rams.
Therefore, if Adofo-Mensah drafted Grey Zabel or Tyler Booker in Round 1, for instance, Brandel could be dealt to a guard-needy team for a 5th- or 6th-Rounder.
And all these player trade ideas are in play because Minnesota is short on draft picks. Just four.
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