Biggest Trade Needs for the Vikings before the NFL Deadline
Sunday’s game for the Minnesota Vikings at the Detroit Lions will tell all about the team’s trade plans. Minnesota could get its doors blown off, causing it to sell before Tuesday. It could score the upset and add a few players via trade. Oddsmakers believe the purple team will fall by about nine or ten points, so the outlook is bleak.
It’s time: the NFL trade deadline is right around the corner — Tuesday, November 4th — and these are the positions and areas the Vikings should target.
But as a matter of roster need and depending on the outcome of Week 9, the Vikings should target these three roster areas if they finagle any deals in the first place.
What the Vikings Need Most before the NFL Trade Deadline
Here’s the where on the roster for Minnesota at the trade deadline. Positions are ranked ascendingly (No. 1 = top roster need).
3. Draft Picks
There’s a chance the Vikings lose lopsidedly on Sunday, prompting general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to rethink his “all in” plan this year and run for the hills to prepare for 2026.
That would put youth and draft picks as the priority, potentially thrusting Minnesota into action by selling veteran players. The list could include tight end T.J. Hockenson, linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., running back Aaron Jones, and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, for example.
None of those players will fetch high-round picks, but for a team that may refocus on youth in the draft instead of veterans from free agency, picks would be currency.
This one really only applies if it becomes wildly evident by Sunday night that the team is toast and the playoffs are out of the question.
2. Center
Not long ago, the Vikings signed five-time Pro Bowler Ryan Kelly as the fix to its center quandary, and for a couple of games, the man looked the part, carrying over his impressive legacy from the Indianapolis Colts to Minnesota.
Then, disaster struck.
Kelly suffered two concussions in the three games, sending him to injured reserve, where no one has heard a peep about him since. His season may be over; his career is in jeopardy. Without Kelly, Minnesota has auditioned Michael Jurgens at center, as well as versatile offensive lineman Blake Brandel.
Neither Jurgens nor Kelly has aced the assignment.
Therefore, if Adofo-Mensah targets a veteran player via trade, that could be a center. Aaron Brewer of the Miami Dolphins and Ethan Pocic from the Cleveland Browns come to mind.
Our Kyle Joudry wrote this week about a couple of center options, “The Saints employ Erik McCoy, a 28-year-old center who was chosen at No. 48 back in the 2019 NFL Draft. McCoy has ample experience — 86 games in the NFL — equipping him to decode defenses.”
“Plus, he is coming in as PFF’s 9th-best center with a healthy 70.5 overall grade. Particularly encouraging is his 81.5 pass-block grade, a number that sits at first in the NFL. Most of McCoy’s $8,351,000 cap charge would stay back in New Orleans with a trade. And then one wonders about Ethan Pocic from the Browns.”
Otherwise, Minnesota will limp through the rest of the year with Brandel and Jurgens until the offseason, when a new center should be gettable via free agency or the draft.
“The 30-year-old lineman entered the NFL as the No. 58 selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. Standing at 6’6″ and weighing 320 pounds, Pocic has unusual size for the position. He sits at 17th in the PFF rankings for centers, boasting a 62.7 grade alongside a pass-blocking grade that’s sitting at a healthy 66.4 (good for 9th in the league). Pocic possesses a $7,764,000 cap charge, most of which would get sent over to Minnesota in a swap,” Joudry continued.
“In each instance, the Vikings would be welcoming a player who could bridge the gap between Ryan Kelly and Michael Jurgens (or Blake Brandel). In each instance, a sinking ship of a team would be offloading an older player in a move to recoup cap space and a draft pick.”
1. Cornerback
The Vikings’ cornerback held up somewhat well to start the season, but in recent games, top-tier quarterbacks have carved them up. The CB3, Jeff Okudah, has been especially problematic, and now Okudah is injured with his second concussion of the season.
Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers have played well enough to inspire confidence for the long haul, but it feels like this group just needs one more player. All offseason, fans wondered if the cornerback room had enough depth, and through eight weeks of the regular season, the answer may be no.
These players could be available via trade:
- Deonte Banks (New York Giants)
- Trevon Diggs (Dallas Cowboys)
- Alontae Taylor (New Orleans Saints)
- Denzel Ward (Cleveland Browns)
- Joshua Williams (Kansas City Chiefs)
- Tariq Woolen (Seattle Seahawks)
None of those men would break the bank via trade. Mostly mid- or late-rounders for asking price.
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