The Minnesota Vikings are rumored to desire to trade up for a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft. By letting Kirk Cousins sign a free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota made room for a quarterback transition. Making that happen, though, might come at a high price.
There have been ongoing NFL trade rumors linking the Vikings to a number of scenarios that would move them into the top-5 picks in the weeks preceding the first round of the draft (April 25). Although Minnesota has the resources to succeed, its obvious need at quarterback and its desperate search for a franchise quarterback lessen its influence.
Teams holding top picks, like the New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Chargers, know how badly the Vikings’ front office and coaching staff want to land a potential franchise-caliber QB. That provides those general managers with massive leverage in trade negotiations. It’s even highlighted in two recent proposals by a former long-time general manager you might be familiar with…
Rick Spielman’s mock Minnesota Vikings trade scenarios
Minnesota Vikings former general manager Rick Spielman conducted a mock negotiating scenario for The 33rd Team with NFL analyst Charles Davis. Davis was operating as the Vikings’ general manager and Spielman made him two take-it-or-leave-it offers to move up for the fourth overall pick.
Spielman’s first scenario had Minnesota moving up to No. 4 overall by shipping out both the 11th and 23rd overall picks this year, along with another first-round pick next year. If Davis’ mock Vikings weren’t willing to do that, Spielman was “willing” to forget the additional first-round pick in exchange for… Justin Jefferson.
Davis declined both proposals, but the exercise does provide some insight into the process Vikings’ general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is going through this month. Let’s take a quick look at the value of the proposals and the merit behind one of them.
We’ll start immediately with Spielman’s proposal offering to trade down from the fourth overall pick in exchange for Minnesota trading Justin Jefferson paired with the 11th and 23rd overall picks. Even putting aside the fact that Adofo-Mensah made it clear Jefferson isn’t moving, the trade value itself doesn’t line up.
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