The Vikings Trade up the Board Could Come Sooner than Expected
Josh Frey
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The 2024 NFL Draft is just four days away, and there are rumors galore all over the league.
One team that consistently lands somewhere in the rumor mill is the Minnesota Vikings because of where they sit in the first round of the draft along with their need at the quarterback spot. Ultimately, a Vikings trade up the draft board seems very likely, but the main questions revolve around which team they make the trade with, the price of the deal, and when exactly they make the trade official.
Well, according to Kimberley A. Martin of ESPN, that trade could come even sooner than we expect.
Vikings Trade Up Could Come Sooner than Expected
“The Vikings have been on the phone trying to actively move up. In a perfect world, they would start Thursday with that top-5 pick already in hand, but it’s not guaranteed yet, and their GM has to decide if they’re going to give up the kind of compensation that they need to get into the top five,” Martin explained this week on ESPN’s Get Up.
For the Vikings, this scenario of trading up the board has been the consensus ever since they lost Kirk Cousins about six weeks ago. After six seasons in a Vikings uniform, Cousins decided to sign a four-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons worth $180 million back in March.
They did sign Sam Darnold in free agency, but he has spent the past two seasons largely as a backup (making six starts in 2022 and only one in 2023). In his 56 career starts, Darnold’s teams have gone a combined 21-35.
As a result, all signs point to a trade up the draft board as long as they are able to get the guy that they want. A few weeks ago, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah suggested that the Vikings are “in love” with multiple players at the QB position, and that may give them a couple different options in terms of a draft trade and selection.
However, Adam Schefter of ESPN has also alluded to the idea that Minnesota has a preference in the draft. Per Schefter, that preference is Drake Maye. “It all depends on the team you talk to. It all depends on the team’s interest. If Minnesota were to find a way to get up to three, my sense is, and we don’t know fully, but my sense is that Drake Maye would be the preference,” Schefter said.
If that is the case, Minnesota’s best option might be trading up to the third overall pick with the New England Patriots (who are apparently “open for business”, per de facto GM Eliot Wolf). That trade could prove to be very expensive, but if the Vikings want to land their guy in the draft, it very well could be worth it.
Assuming Caleb Williams goes with the first overall pick to the Chicago Bears, and then Jayden Daniels goes to the Washington Commanders, Maye could very well fall into Minnesota’s lap with the third overall pick.
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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.