The Vikings Should Make a Blockbuster Trade
The Vikings decided not to use a single draft selection during the 2025 NFL Draft on the cornerback position, instead opting to come to agreements with two undrafted free agents in Kansas State’s Keenan Garber and Utah’s Zemaiah Vaughn. Of course, these Vikings chose to re-up on Byron Murphy Jr.’s services with a big-time contract extension, as well as sign free agent Isaiah Rodgers, formerly of the Indianapolis Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Cornerback was probably the position that most of the NFL community had the Vikings taking in their mock drafts, along with the defensive interior line and safety. Minnesota obviously did not decide to go that route, taking Ohio State guard Donovan Jackson with the 24th overall selection.
This was more out of left field than not, seeing as Texas CB Jahdae Barron (besides two-way star Travis Hunter) was the only player at the position to be drafted before Minnesota had the chance to take a swing at one. Popular Vikings mock draftees like Will Johnson and Shavon Revel Jr. fell out of the first round altogether.
The vastly more likely scenario as opposed to a trade with the New York Jets for an all-world corner like Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner is that the Vikings will instead opt to sign a still-available veteran free agent, like Rasul Douglas, Mike Hilton, or Asante Samuel Jr. Either way, reckless speculation is incredibly fun, and the rumors regarding a Vikings and Gardner marriage aren’t exactly new.
Take into account that the Jets are kind of a sinking ship, which isn’t exactly new either. In fact, that news is quite old. The New York Football Jets will go into 2025 with Justin Fields as their starting QB, and as Vikings fans know and tried to convince Chicago Bears fans for years, it isn’t really the most optimal course of action. To be fair, there are worse options, and the Jets believe they have something in Fields, hence why they brought him in on a two-year contractual agreement.
The more important fact of the matter is that the owner of the franchise is Woody Johnson, who hasn’t exactly made the best football operational decisions in his tenure as the face of the place. While this works as an argument for the Vikings to trade for Gardner if he were to want out because he doesn’t trust the long-term vision of the team, it also plays into their hands because trading Gardner in itself is not a good operational decision that can’t be put past Johnson.
The man who could potentially stop that is new New York Jets HC Aaron Glenn, with whom Vikings fans are also very familiar. Glenn was in charge of the Detroit Lions’ defensive operation from 2021 to 2024, and also played cornerback, Gardner’s position, for the New York Jets from 1994 to 2001. This is Glenn’s first year as a coach in the Big Apple, and it has to be assumed that he is standing on the table and possibly even desperate to keep Sauce Gardner in Jets green.
Still, while head coaches play a large part in personnel decisions, the decisions are still technically above him, and if owner Johnson and general manager Darren Mougey value the bountiful future-dated draft capital that they could receive from the Vikings over just one player, albeit a very good player, then it’s out of the head coach’s hands.
Of course, it’s hard to think that a GM in his first year would execute a trade where they’re sending away one of the best players in the league at his position, but if the Vikings’ offer is rich enough, or if Johnson interferes in the decision-making process, it’s not crazy to think it could happen.
Also, for what it’s worth, we do live in a world where three months ago, a 25-year-old Luka Doncic got traded for an injury-prone 32-year-old and a bag of Planters peanuts.
Now, what would the trade cost the Vikings? A whole lot. The negotiations begin with a first-round pick in 2026 and some supporting mid-to-late round draft capital to be generous. The Vikings also would be taking on a large cap number now and down the road, and are already paying Byron Murphy Jr. a ton of money at a position that Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has already shown he doesn’t exactly view as a “premium position” with the lack of draft capital spent in the last two years.
But thinking about that is not nearly as fun as seeing Sauce Gardner in purple in a Brian Flores defense, now is it?
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