Trading Down? This is What a Vikings Draft Trade Could Look Like.
The NFL draft will begin on April 24th, and the Minnesota Vikings will hold the 24th overall pick. In addition to that, they will likely get a third-round compensatory pick for Kirk Cousins’ departure and they also own a couple of fifth-rounders. Due to a lack of draft picks, facilitating a trade-down makes sense.
Trading Down? This is What a Vikings Draft Trade Could Look Like.
Last year, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah used a bunch of assets to trade up to get his hands on J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner in the first round. In the previous year, he stayed at pick 23 to bring Jordan Addison to the Twin Cities, and in 2022, he decided to maximize his chances by trading down 20 spots.
Ultimately, that draft was a disaster with Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth, and Ed Ingram headlining the class, but in a vacuum, increasing the number of draft picks by drafting later is not the worst strategy.
PFF’s Dalton Wasserman had the Vikings trade out of the 24th draft slot in his latest mock draft to secure an additional pick. His terms: “Trade terms: Patriots receive 2025 first-round pick (No. 24); Vikings receive 2025 second-round pick (No. 38), 2025 third-round pick (No. 77).”
The analyst sent New England offensive tackle Josh Conerly out of Oregon. “While New England will have several interior options to choose from in free agency, there aren’t as many quick fixes for their abhorrent tackle situation. The pick-needy Vikings could look to trade down, as projected here, and the Patriots become a suitor to select Conerly. If New England feels satisfied at wide receiver and offensive tackle after this draft, they’ll have succeeded.”
Long story short, the Vikings would leave the first draft day with picks 38 and 77 instead of having a player selected 24th overall.
Pick 38 could be a prime position to secure the rights of one of the top running backs in the draft. While Ashton Jeanty will be long gone, TreVeyon Henderson (Ohio State), Omarion Hampton (North Carolina), or Kaleb Johnson (Iowa) could be just within reach near the top of the second round.
In addition to that, offensive linemen Donovan Jackson (Ohio State) and Grey Zabel (NDSU) are potential targets, just like Oregon’s DT Derrick Harmon, Ohio State’s DT Tyleik Williams, or Toledo’s Darius Alexander.
Adofo-Mensah has always tried to make deals to move around the draft board and getting a couple of day two picks for pick 24 is a realistic scenario.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt