Report: Vikings a possibility to trade up in draft for QB

With Kirk Cousins' future remaining uncertain, don't be surprised if the Minnesota Vikings move up in the draft to take a quarterback. 

ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler is reporting that teams around the league are "keeping an eye" on the Vikings, who have the No. 11 overall pick for April's 2024 NFL Draft. 

Cousins – who turns 36 before the start of the 2024-25 season – underwent surgery on a torn Achilles in November. According to the Mayo Clinic, it can take a year to fully recover from this injury.  

The four-time Pro Bowler could enter free agency this offseason, but he recently said he wants to "end his career with the Vikings," per Kevin Seifert of ESPN. Given the severity of the injury, though, drafting another QB makes sense for Minnesota.

Moving up in the draft would require significant draft capital. The teams with the top three picks, the Chicago Bears (No. 1 overall), Washington Commanders (No. 2 overall) and New England Patriots (No. 3 overall), all need a QB. 

If the Vikings didn't want to give up too much, they could wait until the second round, as evaluators consider it a deep QB class. Seifert predicted the Vikings would select Michigan's J.J. McCarthy – who just helped the Wolverines win their first national championship in 26 years – with the 42nd overall pick.
Either way, Minnesota must find a successor to Cousins and a contingency plan. Instability at football's most important position torpedoed the Vikings this past season.

Cousins missed the last nine games of the 2023 regular season. The Vikings (7-10) went 3-6 during this stretch while rotating through three starting quarterbacks. They also missed the playoffs for the third time in the past four seasons.