Vikings draft LSU WR Justin Jefferson, trade 25 to 49ers for 31st pick and more
With the 22nd pick in the NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings selected LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
Most experts consider Jefferson the fourth-best receiver in the draft class behind CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs. Jefferson, 6-foot-1, ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine after racking up an FBS-leading 111 receptions for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Minnesota then traded to the 25th overall pick to the 49ers for the 31st overall pick in the first round, the 117th pick (fourth round) and the 176th pick (5th round). They turned the 31st overall pick into TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney.
More on Jefferson
Jalen Reagor, another wide receiver in what's considered by many to be the deepest wide receiver class in draft history, went one pick before the Vikings to the Eagles at No. 21. That left LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson on the board.
@Vikings please draft Justin Jefferson LSU, he’s got a chance to be as good as any Wr in this years Draft.
— Cris Carter (@criscarter80) April 24, 2020
Jefferson, who was taken with the pick the Vikings got from Buffalo in the Stefon Diggs trade, will undoubtedly be expected to come in and immediately be the No. 2 receiver on the team behind Adam Thielen, with the likes of Bisi Johnson, Tajae Sharpe and others providing depth behind him.
Minnesota entered the draft with big needs at wide receiver, defensive back, offensive tackle and defensive line, but the consensus top-four tackles and the consensus top-three wide receivers were all taken in the top 20 picks.
Meanwhile, the Vikings still own the 25th overall selection and are still rumored to be a possible trade candidate for seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams, who has sought a trade out of Washington since last year.
The other teams reportedly "most interested" in trading for Williams, according to the Washington Post, were the Browns, Jets and Eagles, but the Browns and Jets took offensive tackles with their first-round picks and the Eagles are reportedly out of the equation.
I'm told just now the #Browns are now out of the Trent Williams market after drafting Alabama T Jedrick Wills tonight at the #10 spot, at this time, per source.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) April 24, 2020
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.