The rumors surrounding the Minnesota Vikings trading up in the NFL draft for a quarterback have been going on for some time now. After Friday when the Vikings acquired the 23rd overall pick from the Houston Texans, they became even more so.
After the first wave of free agency, ESPN’s Jordan Reid and Matt Miller took a look at the landscape of the NFL and Miller spoke on the latest leaguewide rumor being the Vikings trading up with the Arizona Cardinals for fourth overall.
With Cousins in Atlanta and Russell Wilson in Pittsburgh, the Vikings (No. 11) and Broncos (No. 12) are trade-up candidates. There is considerable buzz about Minnesota trying to move into the top five to secure a quarterback such as McCarthy or potentially Maye/Daniels if either falls past New England. Friday saw the Vikings make a move to add an additional first-round selection (No. 23) from the Texans — in exchange for 2024 second- and sixth-round picks, plus a 2025 second-rounder. With two first-round picks, the Vikings now own the draft capital to fly up the board for a quarterback. The latest leaguewide rumor has the Vikings trading to No. 4 overall, where the Cardinals are in a sweet spot to trade out with a quarterback-needy team.
The interesting verbiage from Miller in here is this is “the latest leaguewide rumor.” There have been rumors about trading up with multiple teams already, including the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Chargers.
If they did trade up with the Cardinals, the trade would likely look something like this, which I wrote about after the trade to get 23rd overall.
The Vikings trade picks 11 (358) and 23 (245) for picks 4 (491), 66 (76) and 104 (33). It would be 603 points for 602 points which is fair per the Rich Hill trade chart but not realistic, mainly due to the quarterback tax.
The likely move would look something like 11 (358) 23 (245) and 129 (18) for pick 4 (491).
That feels relatively palatable for both sides, especially the Vikings who would prefer to not give up a first-round pick next year with the Texans already having their second-round pick.
What will happen remains to be seen and this will be far from the last rumor we see on the subject.
