Rick Spielman is Trying to Ship Out Justin Jefferson in Latest Vikings Mock Trade
It’s well-known ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft that the Minnesota Vikings want to move up for a quarterback. After allowing Kirk Cousins to depart in NFL free agency for the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota cleared a path for a changing of the guard at quarterback. However, the cost of making that happen could prove significant.
In the weeks leading up to the first round of the draft (April 25), there have been persistent NFL trade rumors tying the Vikings to a variety of scenarios that would move them into the top-5 picks. Minnesota has the assets to pull it off, but its clear need at the position and desperation for a franchise quarterback reduce leverage.
Teams holding top picks, like the New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Chargers, know how badly the Vikings’ front office and coaching staff want to land a potential franchise-caliber QB. That provides those general managers with massive leverage in trade negotiations. It’s even highlighted in two recent proposals by a former long-time general manager you might be familiar with…
Rick Spielman’s mock Minnesota Vikings trade scenarios
Minnesota Vikings former general manager Rick Spielman conducted a mock negotiating scenario for The 33rd Team with NFL analyst Charles Davis. Davis was operating as the Vikings’ general manager and Spielman made him two take-it-or-leave-it offers to move up for the fourth overall pick.
Spielman’s first scenario had Minnesota moving up to No. 4 overall by shipping out both the 11th and 23rd overall picks this year, along with another first-round pick next year. If Davis’ mock Vikings weren’t willing to do that, Spielman was “willing” to forget the additional first-round pick in exchange for… Justin Jefferson.
Davis declined both proposals, but the exercise does provide some insight into the process Vikings’ general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is going through this month. Let’s take a quick look at the value of the proposals and the merit behind one of them.
We’ll start immediately with Spielman’s proposal offering to trade down from the fourth overall pick in exchange for Minnesota trading Justin Jefferson paired with the 11th and 23rd overall picks. Even putting aside the fact that Adofo-Mensah made it clear Jefferson isn’t moving, the trade value itself doesn’t line up.
