National Pundits Offer Trade Ideas for Vikings
Josh Frey
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As much as it feels like the NFL season is just getting started, we are rapidly approaching the midway point of the year. With that, comes the trade deadline. As of Saturday, October 15th, the NFL trade deadline is 17 days away, giving teams just a few weeks to make last-minute improvements to their teams. A few national analysts, namely Bleacher Report and ESPN, have a couple trade ideas for the Vikings.
CB Michael Davis
It should be no surprise that one of the main areas of trade discussion surrounds the Vikings defense, especially the passing defense. While Cam Dantzler is coming around, and Patrick Peterson has played some of his best football as a Viking, overall, Minnesota’s pass defense has struggled.
They’ve allowed the 11th-most passing yards through five weeks, and thus, Bill Barnwell of ESPN is sending Minnesota some help in the form of a slot cornerback. Namely, Minnesota gets CB Michael Davis from the Los Angeles Chargers. In return, Barnwell proposes that the Vikings send Kris Boyd in a return package. Here’s the reasoning behind such a trade for the Vikings:
At 4-1, the Vikings have legitimate playoff aspirations and need help at cornerback. Chandon Sullivan has struggled as the team’s slot corner this season. The Vikings have allowed a 94.0 QBR to slot receivers, the fifth-worst mark in football. Minnesota would need the Chargers to eat some money to make this deal work, but Davis would be a significant upgrade in the slot and a possible solution next year, too.
ESPN‘s Bill Barnwell
Indeed, the Vikings do have true playoff aspirations for the first time since 2019, and an upgrade to the slot cornerback spot could be what puts their defense over the top.
Additionally, the Chargers do not have much use for Davis when JC Jackson is in the lineup. Jackson has missed a pair of games with an ankle injury, but in the three games Jackson has played, Davis hasn’t been able to crack the defensive lineup for a single snap.
Seeing as Davis makes $7 million this year and $6 million in 2023, that’s a lot of money to be riding the pine. Boyd makes just under $1 million this year before hitting free agency this offseason. That contract makes much more sense for a Chargers team simply looking to fill a CB5 role.
WR Denzel Mims
For a team with as much star talent at wide receiver as the Vikings have, it may seem odd for them to search out a trade to add another player at that position. Even still Bleacher Report‘s Kristopher Knox sees Denzel Mims as an option for the Vikings from the New York Jets.
Mims’ agent requested that the young wide receiver be traded from the organization prior to the season’s start, and when that happened, the Vikings were initially connected to the Baylor product. The biggest factor in this connection is price. The Vikings don’t have a ton of cap space to work with, and Mims comes cheap with a cap hit of just under $1.5 million this year. Here’s what Knox had to say of the potential trade.
The 4-1 Minnesota Vikings—who were one of the teams interested in Mims, per Hughes—could use additional depth behind standout Justin Jefferson. Adam Thielen is their only other wideout with at least 200 receiving yards through five weeks. Jefferson, Thielen and K.J. Osborn are the only wideouts with more than 13 receiving yards on the season. Minnesota has only $1.7 million in cap space available, but that’s enough for Mims, who has a $1.5 million cap hit this season.
Bleacher Report‘s Kristopher Knox
Personally, if the Vikings are going to make a trade for anybody by the deadline, I would much rather add a defensive player, especially given injuries to Lewis Cine and Andrew Booth already this year. That said, Mims is certainly intriguing given his combination of size and speed at WR (he ran a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash at the combine).
Through Mims’ first two years, he was not utilized in the Jets offense nearly as much as anticipated, hence the trade request. From 2020-21, he recorded just 31 receptions and 490 yards. Perhaps a change of scenery is what he needs, but Minnesota doesn’t feel like the team to pull the trigger, at least in my humble opinion.
Personally, I’d welcome a trade for Davis, given the role he’d fill for the defense. However, as long as Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and KJ Osborn are healthy, the Vikings likely don’t need to worry about adding more receivers to the offense.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing as well as minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his takes, NFL and otherwise, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.