3 Teams to Watch if the Vikings are Looking to Trade Down the Draft Board
K. Joudry
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The current best guess is that Minnesota would be open to sliding down the draft board.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is working with a modest 5 overall selections. In all likelihood, the young executive would welcome more picks.
By using the NFL’s full draft order and looking at each team’s overall pick allotment, I began poking around to see what teams could become plausible trade partners late on Thursday night. Teams with a history of doing business with the Vikings, have a connection to the franchise, and/or have a lot of overall picks were given priority.
Finding an approximate value on trades was aided by the classic trade value chart.
Trade Partner #1 – The Buffalo Bills
Previously, Minnesota and Buffalo did business and both sides left happy. The Bills have Stefon Diggs, an excellent player who is rightly recognized as being among the NFL’s very best receivers. The Vikings used their newfound 1st-round selection on Justin Jefferson, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year.
A happy trade partner is a good trade partner. Chances are high that Buffalo is a team that will pick up the phone when Minnesota calls.
Would the Bills look to get ahead of, say, the Jaguars or Giants if one of the year’s best WRs tumbles down the board?
The Bills own the 27th selection. Getting up to 23rd would mean scrounging up roughly 80 points in draft value. Tossing in picks 130 and 137 would do the trick. Pairing 27 with 91 is an overpay according to the chart but it may be the attention-grabbing offer that could convince Minnesota’s GM to actualize the deal.
Keep an eye on the Bills.
Trade Partner #2 – The Los Angeles Rams
The Kevin O’Connell connection makes the Rams an obvious team to highlight.
The Rams are undergoing a rebuild but don’t have a 1st-round pick. What they do have, though, is a lot of selections. They’ve got a whopping 11 heading into next week. It’s a number that would make Rick Spielman very, very happy.
Their highest pick is at 36th overall. If they were in love with a player available at 23rd, perhaps GM Les Snead would be open to dealing #36 alongside another pick or two to get into the opening round.
Packaging the 36th selection with the 77th selection is roughly equivalent value (at least according to the chart). Minnesota may even be able to squeeze the Rams for one of their 6th rounders. If so, that extra late-rounder could be used on something like kicking competition.
Trade Partner #3 – Las Vegas Raiders
During the 2022 NFL Draft, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah pulled off half a dozen trades. In a couple instances, he did business with the Raiders. Clearly, the possibility to work with Las Vegas’ front office is a possibility.
The Raiders own the 38th selection. Dropping from 23 to 38 isn’t without pain. As a result, there could be a hearty return.
Las Vegas owns 12 selections, so it’s quite possible they’d be interest in distilling the picks, cashing in several selections in favor of one that’s of more value. Per the classic trade chart, there is a 240 point discrepancy between the 23rd and 38th selections. Somewhat perfectly, the 70th selection is worth 240 points.
Would Minnesota trade the 23rd selection for the 38th and 70th? Presumably, the Vikings’ GM would think long and hard about that offer.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
