Apparently, the Texans/Vikings Trade Idea Was Introduced by Houston
Josh Frey
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A few weeks ago, the Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings reached a trade agreement regarding some of their draft picks in 2024 and 2025.
The Vikings were given the No. 23 overall pick this spring as well as No. 232. Meanwhile, the Texans received Nos. 42 and 188 while also adding Minnesota’s second-round pick in 2025. Seeing as the Vikings are likely to make a trade up the draft board in pursuit of a quarterback, it would have made sense for Minnesota to be the team in pursuit of this trade.
However, a recent report from Adam Schefter suggests that it wasn’t the Vikings who initiated this trade. Instead, it was the Texans.
The Texans/Vikings Trade May Have Begun in Houston
Here is what Schefter said earlier in the week:
“A couple of weeks back, the Houston Texans went to the Minnesota Vikings and initiated a trade in which they got out of the first round, got an extra second-round pick, and they got an extra two as well in 2025. Lo and behold, everybody assumed that trade was the Vikings initiating it so that they could go up and get a quarterback.
But the truth of the matter is that it was the Texans that initiated that to get out of the first round, to get added draft capital in the second round the next two years, so they could be in position to make a trade like the one that they did on Wednesday, acquiring Stefon Diggs at what many people were surprised by the price in the end.”
Of course, Houston promptly turned around and made their trade to acquire WR Stefon Diggs this week, further solidifying their wide receiver room around Nico Collins and Tank Dell and giving young QB C.J. Stroud another weapon to throw to this season.
Houston’s pursuit of additional draft capital makes sense. They are already solidified at a number of the more premium positions on their roster. Stroud looks like one of the best young QBs in the NFL while Collins, Dell, and now Diggs create an excellent trio at WR. For the defense, Will Anderson Jr. helps solidify their pass rushing group, and Derek Stingley is a strong piece to build around in the secondary.
As a result, the Texans don’t need to necessarily target star talent at these positions for a couple of years. They can afford to try and simply fill out some of the less premium positions with additional Day 2 picks while also adding depth to those premium positions.
For the Vikings, this is an interesting report. As Schefter notes, many have assumed that the Vikings would have been the team to pursue this trade in order to create a more appealing package for teams at the top of the draft.
If that is not the case, are the Vikings actually trying as hard as some might assume to get up the board for a quarterback? Both Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell have preached flexibility heading into this offseason and draft.
Some have even gone so far as to suggest that the Vikings’ brass has been attempting to send a message to the rest of the league that, if a team doesn’t like what Minnesota is willing to give, they will indeed just stand pat and select the best players available at Nos. 11 and 23.
The draft will officially begin in just 18 days, and we will finally get answers to some of these questions.
The Vikings Depth Chart Post Free Agency
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.