The Vikings are among several teams who have been pondering a move up the draft board, but a move on Friday signals that they may at least be getting more serious about it.
Minnesota has the #11 overall pick, but they got aggressive and Minnesota general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah reached an agreement with Houston to also acquire their #23 overall selection. That now gives the Vikings two pieces of currency in Round 1 to move up the board should they elect to target a quarterback.
As things currently sit, the departure of Kirk Cousins to Atlanta certainly altered the Vikings’ current trajectory. His loss saw them sign Sam Darnold as a placeholder, but Minnesota clearly went from a potential NFC Contender to now trying to figure out how they’re going to handle the position.
The move also created some chaos internally, with superstar wideout Justin Jefferson now reportedly unhappy. If that situation goes south, it’s probably safe to say most Vikings fans would probably lose their minds if they lost the most explosive player they’ve had since Randy Moss. It’s obvious that the club is now feeling some pressure, and the only question is going to be what they ultimately decide to do about it.
Adofo-Mensah said on Thursday that they’ll look at whatever opportunities they have and try and use whatever flexibility they have to give them the best chance for that.
“If the opportunity comes where that player’s available, we’ll take it, ” he said via ESPN. “If it’s not available in that sense, we’ll continue to build around and then find potential odds at a long-term solution, in addition to what we’ve already brought in with Sam and anybody else we require. So really, the answer isn’t some strict thing. And part of that is the flexibility we’ve wanted to put into our plan for these past couple years.”
It’s also possible that the Vikings could be coveting Jayden Daniels, who has reportedly been New England’s preference. This was mentioned here last week, but Alec Lewis of the Athletic, who covers the Vikings, reported previously that he was told by an LSU staffer that Minnesota was “one of the earliest teams to dive into, evaluate, and express an interest in” Daniels.
One other wrinkle is that there have been rumors that the Patriots aren’t necessarily high on Drake Maye and feel strongly enough on Daniels where they may even move back. One report by Tony Pauline went so far to say that if Daniels comes off the board before the Patriots pick, “the New England Patriots would trade back if Jayden Daniels did not drop to their slot.”
That means, for the Vikings to land him, that would require the Bears to stay the course with taking Caleb Williams. It would also mean that Minnesota would then have to potentially jump ahead of the Patriots at #2 overall, and it’s possible Friday’s move is one step towards at least giving them that option.
It’s also possible that the Vikings could be pondering a deal with New England. But for the Patriots to trade back, it would certainly be a big gamble, depending on who is on their radar.
Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy is a name that has come up, although his stock has skyrocketed in recent days, and the club was recently on hand for Bo Nix’s workout at Oregon, although he’s another player who is moving up the board.
The only other way you could see it happening would be if Jefferson’s name was floated as an additional chip in the deal. However, that creates a new problem, and the Vikings may not be even willing to consider it, given the backlash they’d face.
Needless to say, it’s going to be interesting. The only issue is the Patriots are learning what it’s like to be a cellar-dwelling team and an unattractive landing spot, which has absolutely impacted the start of free agency.
If they continue to struggle to bring in upper-echelon talent, it’s only going to make next month’s draft that much more critical.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
