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.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0 That now gives the Vikings two pieces of currency in Round 1 to move up the board should they elect to target a quarterback.<\/p>\n
As things currently sit, the departure of Kirk Cousins to Atlanta certainly altered the Vikings’ current trajectory.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
The move also created some chaos internally, with superstar wideout Justin Jefferson now reportedly unhappy.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“If the opportunity comes where that player’s available, we’ll take it, ” he said via ESPN<\/strong><\/a>. “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.”<\/p>\n It’s also possible that the Vikings could be coveting Jayden Daniels, who has reportedly been New England’s preference.\u00a0 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<\/strong><\/a> that Minnesota was \u201cone of the earliest teams to dive into, evaluate, and express an interest in\u201d Daniels.<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0 One report by Tony Pauline went so far to say that if Daniels comes off the board before the Patriots pick, \u201cthe New England Patriots<\/strong><\/a> would trade back if Jayden Daniels did not drop to their slot.\u201d<\/p>\n That means, for the Vikings to land him, that would require the Bears to stay the course with taking Caleb Williams.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n It’s also possible that the Vikings could be pondering a deal with New England.\u00a0 But for the Patriots to trade back, it would certainly be a big gamble, depending on who is on their radar.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n The only other way you could see it happening would be if Jefferson\u2019s name was floated as an additional chip in the deal.\u00a0 However, that creates a new problem, and the Vikings may not be even willing to consider it, given the backlash they\u2019d face.<\/p>\n Needless to say, it\u2019s going to be interesting.\u00a0 The only issue is the Patriots are learning what it\u2019s like to be a cellar-dwelling team and an unattractive landing spot, which has absolutely impacted the start of free agency.<\/p>\n If they continue to struggle to bring in upper-echelon talent, it\u2019s only going to make next month\u2019s draft that much more critical.<\/p>\n Following Mac Jones’ Patriots trade to the Jaguars last weekend, Jones met with the media on Thursday<\/strong><\/a> for the first time in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n Jones said his time in New England was a great experience, and he’s excited to get started with his new team.<\/p>\n “A lot of great learning experiences,” said Jones.\u00a0 “Learned from a great head coach, obviously one of the greatest of all time, been fortunate to kind of work with some great head coaches and learned a lot.\u00a0 Played a lot of games, started a lot of games, and obviously, things went the way they did, and my goal is to kind of get the train back on the tracks.\u00a0 So I think I can do that here, and the coaches here have talked to me about that and just how I can help the room and how I can learn from Trevor [Lawrence] and everybody here, and obviously, he’s playing great football and he’s done a great job here in Jacksonville.\u00a0 So I’m excited to get back with him and C.J. [Beathard] and just learn from them.”<\/p>\n He was then asked if he had any regrets from his time in New England, and Jones said the most important thing in his mind is just learning from it and hopefully improving now that he has a fresh start.<\/p>\n “Every experience is a good experience if you learn from it,” said Jones.\u00a0 “The games that we lost, the things that happened, obviously you don’t ever want to lose, you want to win every game you play in but I understand that’s sometimes really hard to do in the NFL.\u00a0 I don’t have regrets.\u00a0 I feel like I put everything out there.\u00a0 I gave a lot to that organization and they gave a lot to me, so I’m going to do the same thing here in a good way, and just be myself, be Mac, and learn from, like I said, Trevor and C.J. and the coaches here that have a lot of offensive background.\u00a0 That’ll be important to me and that’s a big reason why I felt like it would be a good fit.”<\/p>\n The former Patriots quarterback is from Jacksonville, where his parents still live and where Jones said his grandmother also lives.\u00a0 He joked that his grandmother hasn’t been to a game and that he’s hoping to have her see one at some point.<\/p>\n When asked if he felt like there was any pressure playing in front of his home town, he laughed and said that if anything, that weight has been lifted.<\/p>\n “No, if anything, it’s less,” said Jones.\u00a0 “It feels good, man.\u00a0 It’s all good. I feel like they’re building a good thing here so I’m just going to come in and try and work and prove myself and then obviously be a great teammate, put the team first, all those things.”<\/p>\n Jones posted a “thank you” post to everyone in New England via social media on Friday:<\/p>\n Thank you, New England! pic.twitter.com\/3jRygcRDcS<\/a><\/p>\n — Mac Jones (@MacJones_10) March 15, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"Mac](\"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/USATSI_17442612_168390408_lowres-450x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\nJones Speaks In Jacksonville<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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