 Vikings Reportedly Considered Trading Justin Jefferson During NFL Draft
Before the NFL Draft, there were reports that the Minnesota Vikings contemplated moving into the top five picks. Surprisingly, this move was not to select a quarterback but to potentially replace their star wide receiver, Justin Jefferson.
Charley Waters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press mentioned in his Sunday column that there was talk about the Vikings trying to trade from their No. 11 spot to No. 5. Their target was LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers, who was ultimately picked at No. 6 by the Giants. If this trade had happened, Jefferson would likely have been traded, making Nabers the Vikings’ new top receiver.
Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk also heard similar rumors about the Vikings’ interest in trading Jefferson and drafting Nabers.
.@JJettas2 LOL
📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/ZMEg6KW4Qr
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 1, 2023
Trading away Jefferson might seem shocking for the Vikings, especially considering ESPN’s Field Yates ranked Nabers as the second-best wide receiver in the draft, behind Marvin Harrison Jr., who was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals. It remains to be seen if Nabers can match Jefferson’s achievements, including three Pro Bowl selections.
Jefferson is currently in the final year of his rookie contract and recently skipped the start of OTAs. Albert Breer from Sports Illustrated speculated that Jefferson could secure $90M-$100M in guarantees in his next contract.
The Vikings might want to avoid such a substantial financial commitment to preserve future salary cap space. However, Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell reassured fans in a conversation with FanDuel’s Kay Adams that Jefferson’s contract situation will be resolved.
Ensuring Jefferson stays makes sense for the Vikings. After a pick swap with the New York Jets, the Vikings selected Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the 10th overall pick, and he will need top-tier targets to succeed.
Let’s discuss the latest Vikings draft/trade rumor, because it’s quite a wild one.
We’ve officially entered the quiet period of the NFL offseason, with little activity expected until Training Camp starts in late July. So, when anything related to the Minnesota Vikings comes up, it grabs our attention, no matter how absurd it might seem.
For instance, there’s a new rumor about what Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings’ front office attempted to do during the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and it’s quite a shocker—not in a good way.
Pro Football Talk, along with Charley Walters from the St. Paul Pioneer Press, reported that the Vikings were aggressively trying to trade up into the top five of last month’s draft. This much we knew. However, the surprising part is that they weren’t aiming to pick a quarterback, which would have been the logical move. Instead, they reportedly targeted LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers. Nabers was eventually picked by the New York Giants at #6 overall. Moreover, if the Vikings had successfully traded up for Nabers, they planned to trade away Justin Jefferson.
You can critique Adofo-Mensah’s management of the roster in his first couple of years as GM, but he’s not clueless. He understands that this draft will significantly impact his tenure with the Vikings and made decisions accordingly.
Before the draft, the Vikings had three quarterbacks on the roster:
– Sam Darnold, whose contract ends after the 2024 season
– Nick Mullens, also with a contract expiring after 2024
– Jaren Hall, who isn’t ready to start in the NFL and might never be
The Vikings needed to secure a quarterback in this draft, and they did. By selecting J.J. McCarthy without giving up as much as anticipated, they could also pick Dallas Turner to strengthen their defense. Trading up for Nabers would have made it impossible to select Turner and left the quarterback situation uncertain beyond this season. This is not a scenario Adofo-Mensah would have wanted.
If the Vikings spread rumors about their interest in Nabers, it might have been to mislead the Giants, who were also interested in McCarthy. This strategy seems more plausible than giving up significant assets for another receiver. The Giants stayed at #6 and made their pick, allowing McCarthy to fall to the Vikings without them sacrificing too much.
Adofo-Mensah wouldn’t trade away the NFL’s best receiver and mortgage the future for another wide receiver when they lacked a viable quarterback option for the future. The 2025 quarterback class isn’t highly regarded, and without securing McCarthy, the Vikings would face more uncertainty.
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