The Buffalo Bills will return to the AFC Championship for the first time in four years this weekend, taking on the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bills Got a Little Screwed by the Vikings
All focus for the Bills is to return to February football. Buffalo hasn’t reached the Super Bowl in 31 years.
But when the Bills get to draft time — which isn’t too far away — they accidentally got a little screwed by the Minnesota Vikings’ 14-win season.
The MIN-HOU Trade
On March 15th, 2024, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah fired up this trade with the Houston Texans:
Vikings Receive:
No. 23
No. 232
Texans Receive:
No. 42
No. 188
2025 2nd-Round pick
Most approved the trade at the time because it provided Minnesota flexibility via another deal to climb up the draftboard for a quarterback of the future. Ultimately, Adofo-Mensah didn’t spend much to draft Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, but he did send a mini-version of the farm to the Jacksonville Jaguars for the pick necessary to draft EDGE rusher Dallas Turner.
At the bottom of the Texans’ haul, listed above, Houston received Minnesota’s 2025 2nd-Rounder.
That’s where the miniature screwjob began.
The Stefon Diggs Trade
On April 3rd, or three weeks later, the Texans shipped that Vikings’ draft pick to the Buffalo Bills for wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who Vikings fans know quite well.
The Texans constructed their version of “three deep” for the 2024 season, employing Nico Collins, Tank Dell, and Diggs as the WR corps. Life was good.
Months later, Diggs and Dell would be lost for the season due to injury, but the Texans used Minnesota’s 2nd-Rounder nevertheless to grab Diggs.
BUF Picking at Bottom of 2nd Round, Not the Top
When the Bills offloaded Diggs to Houston, it knew the Texans’ 2nd-Rounder originally belonged to Minnesota.
And at the time, the Vikings were forecasted as a six- or seven-win team, which would’ve plopped the freshly acquired draft pick in the first part of the 2nd Round.
Well, thanks to Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell and reclamation passer Sam Darnold, Minnesota finished the season with a 14-3 record, doubling the season win total expected by oddsmakers.
The Bills thought they’d receive the 2nd-Rounder as a pick between 33rd and 40th or so.
Instead, because of Minnesota’s unforeseen fancy record, Buffalo will pick 56th in April’s draft — about 20 spots lower than most believed. In draft-speak, there’s a major difference between the 36th pick and 56th.
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.