When the Minnesota Vikings acquired the 23rd overall pick in a trade with the Houston Texans earlier this offseason, everyone knew what they were doing: stocking up on ammunition to trade up in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Currently, the Vikings own two first-round picks, with the other coming in at No. 11. Many feel that Minnesota will end up packaging its two top selections in order to move up to draft a quarterback, and Ben Goessling of The Minneapolis Star Tribune thinks the team will manage to achieve that feat.
“We’ve talked about it a dozen times by this point, but I still think that’s plan A [in trading up for a top QB],” Goessling said during an appearance on KFAN1003 (h/t The Purple Persuasion). “And I expect that they’ll get it done. … I think they will say, ‘We’ll do what it takes to make the deal.'”
The Vikings are in need of a quarterback after watching Kirk Cousins walk via free agency. They did sign Sam Darnold, but Darnold is nothing more than a backup or a bridge starter.
Minnesota would likely still be able to pick up a signal-caller at No. 11, but it almost surely wouldn’t be one of the top prospects in the draft unless someone like J.J. McCarthy fell.
McCarthy is probably the guy the Vikings will trade up for, too.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye are widely viewed as the top three quarterbacks in the draft class, and all three are expected to go in the top three picks. It will likely be difficult for Minnesota to trade up that far, which leaves McCarthy.
Perhaps the Vikings will be able to swing a deal with either the Arizona Cardinals or Los Angeles Chargers to move into the top five next Thursday.
If not, Minnesota will have some crucial decisions to make.
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