The Minnesota Vikings started draft season off in style when they traded for the Houston Texans’ 23rd overall pick in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, in exchange for their 2nd round pick (42) and the Vikings’ 2nd round pick in 2025.
Minnesota Vikings Presumed To Be Going For A Quarterback In The Post-Kirk Cousins Era
The assumption then, naturally, was that Minnesota was vying to move up into the top 5 picks of the draft to select one of the top QB prospects in a loaded 2024 class.
Using their own pick, #11, and Houston’s pick, #23, they could trade with the Arizona Cardinals or Los Angeles Chargers, sitting at #4 and #5 respectively – or perhaps even the New England Patriots, sitting at #3, and select one of the so-called “Big 4” quarterback prospects; Caleb Williams (who will almost certainly not be there), Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels and National Championship winner, JJ McCarthy.
There did not seem to be any information that would seemingly query this line of thinking, with the Minnesota Vikings very much intent on doing their homework on this year’s QB college recruits.
However, it turns out that instead of the Vikings plotting a specific, strategic play to get a second 1st round pick to move further into round 1, it seems that it was Houston, not Minnesota, who first approached the other with trade talks concerning the exchange of picks – per Adam Schefter on “The Stephen A. Smith Show“.
“A couple of weeks back the Houston Texans went to the Minnesota Vikings and initiated a trade in which they got out of the first round, got an extra second-round pick, and they got an extra 2 in that deal in as well in 2025.
Well lo and behold, everybody assumed that that trade was the Vikings initiating it so that they could go up and get a quarterback.
The truth of the matter was it was the Texans who initiated that to get out of the first round to get added draft capital in the second round the next two years so that they could go be in position to make a trade like the one that they did on Wednesday acquiring Stefon Diggs at what many people are surprised by the price in the end.
Will Minnesota Definitely Take A Quarterback In The First Round Of the NFL Draft?
The Minnesota Vikings are certainly well in the mix for a quarterback in this year’s draft, yet they evidently felt, likely correctly, that by the 11th overall pick, the top “franchise QB” caliber prospects in the draft would have been taken.
Yet, the fact that the Houston Texans approached the Vikings, rather than the other way round, is very telling. Firstly, it indicates that the Stefon Diggs trade was very much a pre-calculated move, rather than a spontaneous, 2-3 day deal crank out.
Secondly, it implies that Minnesota was not overtly set on moving up to force its way into the QB sweepstakes; rather, they simply capitalized on an opportunity presented to them by the reigning AFC South champions to move back into the 1st round and benefit from some added flexibility in this year’s draft, even if they have to sacrifice future capital.
However, the fact remains that the Vikings are gunning for a quarterback, unless they truly believe that bridge starter, Sam Darnold, can be “the guy” – but don’t think that a signal caller being selected in the 1st round of the 2024 NFL Draft, especially the top 10, is simply a foregone conclusion.
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