Could a Team Be Trying to Smokescreen the Vikings?
Josh Frey
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The 2024 NFL Draft is just a couple weeks away at this point, and NFL teams are in the midst of a massive chess match as they try to fill out their rosters for the upcoming season.
These final weeks before the draft begins are filled with deceit and smokescreens as teams try to identify prospects that they would like to select without letting anyone else in on their ideas. Sitting at No. 11 overall, the Minnesota Vikings are in the thick of this smoke, but inevitably, other teams are also doing their best to deceive Minnesota as well.
The Team Who Could Be Trying to Smokescreen the Vikings
One such team could be the New York Giants. Currently, the Giants hold the sixth overall pick this spring, putting them in prime position to select a quarterback should they desire one. After all, despite handing Daniel Jones a pretty hefty contract last offseason, they can get out of the deal at the end of the 2025 season.
However, Albert Breer suggested on Monday that this supposed interest in the quarterback prospects could simply be a well-coordinated smokescreen against other teams looking to snatch one.
Breer wrote, “So maybe the Giants take one. Or maybe this is all smoke to get someone such as Minnesota or the Las Vegas Raiders or the Denver Broncos to jump them, so another player — maybe Marvin Harrison Jr. or Malik Nabers — falls into their laps at No. 6. Obviously, it’s to Schoen’s advantage that we can’t say which. As such, he has no problem playing coy on his true intentions with his first-round pick.”
As Breer suggests, this smokescreen could benefit the Giants in a number of ways. Firstly, if one of the Arizona Cardinals or Los Angeles Chargers were to move down to No. 11 in a trade with the Vikings, it would allow a top-tier prospect at a non-QB position to fall into New York’s lap.
The Giants have a major need at wide receiver and arguably could be interested in an offensive tackle as well. These are very similar needs to both Arizona and Los Angeles, so a trade down by one of those teams would keep an elite player on the board for New York.
Meanwhile, the Giants could also trick the Vikings into utilizing boatloads of draft capital for an unnecessary trade to move above New York. After all, Minnesota is a conference rival of New York’s, so any missteps by the Vikings would be a positive for the Giants in their pursuit of getting back into the playoffs, particularly with Minnesota back on their regular season schedule this season.
Adam Schefter also doubled down on the idea that New York simply is trying to smokescreen other teams. The ESPN insider said on Monday:
“To me, in the end, this is a team that has enough other needs, and a team that is trying to win now, that I wouldn’t guess that they go quarterback at six right now. […] If I were making a friendly wager, I think they go wide receiver or offensive line at six.”
Schefter did suggest that New York could look at a QB in the second or third round if Bo Nix or Michael Penix were available, but it does seem that the tea leaves are pointing towards other positions with the sixth overall pick in New York.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.