What are the Vikings' draft options after their trade with Houston?
At Thursday's press conference to introduce their latest free agent signings, Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah told reporters that the team had "the flexibility to go either way" when it came to selecting a quarterback in this year's NFL Draft.
Less than 24 hours later, that flexibility arrived when the Vikings acquired the 23rd overall pick in a trade with the Houston Texans. With two first-round picks in this year's draft, the Vikings gave themselves enough draft capital to trade into the top five selections but also gave them a fallback plan in case they can't find a deal.
With several paths to choose from, here's a look at what the Vikings could do during the draft and how it would affect their search for a new franchise quarterback.
1. Trade into the top 3
According to several trade charts, the value of the 11th and 23rd overall pick is enough to move into the top part of the draft. But as anyone who plays in a dynasty fantasy football league knows, points aren't an indicator that a deal is in the works.
The Vikings tried to do this a year ago when they reportedly coveted Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson. After attempting to trade with the Arizona Cardinals for the third pick in the draft, the Cardinals chose to make a deal with the Houston Texans in part due to the higher draft pick (12th overall) that was involved in the deal.
The Vikings came up empty-handed as Richardson went to the Indianapolis Colts with the following pick, but it gave them an idea of what it would take to move up. The Texans gave up the 12th and 33rd overall pick in the 2023 draft as well as a first and third-round pick in 2024 and the deal allowed them to take edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. with the third overall pick.
But that deal didn't come in a loaded quarterback class with several big names on the board. With Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud taken with the first two selections, Richardson was the last name on the list and didn't create the type of market the Vikings will have to navigate this year.
A more recent deal could be the Trey Lance trade which saw the San Francisco 49ers give up first-round picks in 2021, 2022 and 2023 as well as a third-round pick in 2022 for the third overall pick in the draft.
The Vikings may have two picks in this year's draft but they may have to give up something else as part of a "quarterback tax" to get the deal done.
This is especially true since the first three teams in the draft could all use quarterbacks. The Chicago Bears are unofficially locked in to draft Caleb Williams after trading Justin Fields to Pittsburgh on Saturday and the Washington Commanders are in a similar spot after trading Sam Howell to Seattle on Friday.
With both teams ready to select quarterbacks, the Vikings' best hope could be to make a deal with the New England Patriots. But even they could use a quarterback after trading Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars and might choose to take one.
This creates a high price for the Vikings to move up and could lead them to their second option.
2. Trade to the back end of the top five
If the top three teams aren't willing to move, the Vikings could pivot to a backup option. With four quarterbacks projected at the top of the class, the Vikings could wind up with the door prize of whomever falls.
If that's Drake Maye, the Vikings get a signal caller with a big arm and athleticism who was coached by new quarterback coach Josh McCown in high school.
If that's Jayden Daniels, the Vikings get a player with incredible deep accuracy and elite dual-threat ability.
If that's J.J. McCarthy, they get a player with a strong arm, who can throw on the run and just led Michigan to the national championship.
None of these options are a bad outcome but the Vikings have to hope that either the Arizona Cardinals or Los Angeles Chargers are willing to trade out of the fourth or fifth pick.
Arizona is considered to be the floor for the Vikings due to the presence of Kyler Murray, but the Cardinals might want to pair him with the top receiver in this class, Marvin Harrison Jr.
That scenario would lead the Vikings to call the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 5 who also have their quarterback situation squared away.
This could present the risk of the Vikings being usurped by the New York Giants, whose No. 6 pick might be more appealing to the Cardinals at 4th than the Vikings' No. 11.
What's more Jim Harbaugh also has connections to McCarthy after coaching him the past three seasons at Michigan.
This is a crazy scenario – especially since trading Justin Herbert would result in a $108.5 million cap hit as a pre-June 1 move – but Harbaugh once drafted Colin Kaepernick to sit behind Alex Smith during his time in San Francisco. Would he pass on a player that he believes should be the No. 1 overall pick? Or would he choose to trade down and surround Herbert with a new cast of weapons?
If Harbaugh chooses McCarthy – or the Giants leapfrog the Vikings to take him – it could lead the Vikings to another path.
3. Proceed with picks 11 and 23
This could be looked at as a worst-case scenario for Vikings fans but would fall in line with the team's plan over the past three seasons.
The 2024 NFL Draft has had scouts drooling for over a year due to its depth at key positions and the Vikings could keep the picks and add another playmaker to improve their infrastructure.
A popular selection could be an edge rusher even after the signings of Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel. Alabama's Dallas Turner and Florida State's Jared Verse could be on the radar here and would give Brian Flores a stable of edge rushers to get creative with.
The Vikings could also opt to take a cornerback with this pick. Byron Murphy Jr. is a solid starter but performed better in the slot last season while Mekhi Blackmon and Akayleb Evans could be more suited for a rotational role.
According to The Athletic's Alec Lewis, the Vikings were high on Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell at the Senior Bowl, but other names such as Clemson's Nate Wiggins, Iowa's Cooper DeJean or Alabama's Kool-Aid McKinstry could be in play.
All of this still leaves the quarterback position. The Vikings would have a PR nightmare on their hands if they didn't grab a quarterback and it could lead them to either select a signal caller at 23 or trade down to accumulate more draft capital.
Michael Penix would be the logical name in this scenario after meeting with the Vikings at the scouting combine. After getting a clean bill of health, the soon-to-be 24-year-old has plenty of arm talent and could be ready to step into a starting role.
The Vikings could also target Oregon's Bo Nix but his first-read offense with the Ducks and resistance to throw into tight windows could scare teams off. For what it's worth neither Adofo-Mensah nor head coach Kevin O'Connell attended Nix's pro day last week.
It leads to several avenues the Vikings could take in the coming weeks but it's clear Adofo-Mensah and the rest of the front office have the type of flexibility they didn't have a week ago.
