July 2, 2024

The Minnesota Vikings made an interesting trade two weeks ago when they acquired the No. 23 selection in the 2024 NFL draft from the Houston Texans. We don’t often see trades for late Round 1 picks so far out from the draft, but there might have been a bigger plan at play: The Vikings now have two first-round picks this year, which gives them assets to move up to select a quarterback if and when the time comes.

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That could be crucial in this class, as quarterbacks are projected to go 1-2-3 to kick off the draft. The fourth — projected to be Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy — could go as early as No. 4 overall, and there’s an outside chance a fifth signal-caller could sneak into the top 10. Minnesota lost Kirk Cousins in free agency earlier this month and owns the No. 11 pick, so a trade up might be necessary if general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah decides to address the position in the draft.

With all of that in mind, we took a closer look at the situation. Vikings reporter Kevin Seifert laid out how Minnesota got here, and draft analyst Jordan Reid stacked the QBs who might make sense in a potential trade. Then, national reporter Dan Graziano pitched potential trade packages to move up to each spot that could theoretically be in play — Nos. 3-10. Finally, Seifert sized up what the Vikings are most likely to do, and our experts made predictions.

Seifert: The Vikings are in this position because they don’t have a long-term quarterback on their roster. They drew a hard line in negotiations with Cousins, refusing to commit to him as their starter for more than the 2024 season and instead signing journeyman Sam Darnold to a one-year deal. It was a defensible series of moves, as Cousins approaches his 36th birthday while recovering from the first major injury of his professional career (torn Achilles). But it also exposed the Vikings’ lack of a transition plan.

 

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