Browns, Vikings Make Sense for Blockbuster NFL Draft Trade

Could the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings hook up for a massive NFL Draft trade?

Aug 10, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) looks to pass during the second quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns now know where they will be drafting in April.

Thanks to a New England Patriots win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 18, the Browns moved up to No. 2 in the NFL Draft order, which puts Cleveland in a fantastic position.

Of course, the most straightforward path for the Browns will be selecting a quarterback at that spot, whether it be Colorado's Shedeur Sanders or Miami's Cam Ward.

But there is another avenue Cleveland could pursue.

Trading the pick.

If the Browns field offers for the No. 2 selection, they will obviously generate tremendous interest, and a very intriguing potential trade partner is the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings wouldn't appear to be a match in the traditional sense, as they will be picking toward the bottom of the first round.

However, Minnesota does have a very interesting asset at its disposal: quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

The Vikings took McCarthy with the 10th overall pick last spring, but due to a preseason knee injury, he missed his entire rookie campaign.

McCarthy then watched as Sam Darnold lit it up for Minnesota and earned his first Pro Bowl selection, which has many wondering if the Vikings will re-sign Darnold in free agency.

If Minnesota does, in fact, retain Darnold, it would put McCarthy between a rock and a hard place. Darnold is just 27 years old, so any deal to keep the USC product would obviously be long term. And where does that leave McCarthy?

In that scenario, the best option for the Vikings would be to trade McCarthy, and the Browns could represent a perfect potential landing spot.

Minnesota could trade McCarthy, its first-round pick and some other significant draft capital (possibly including a 2026 first-rounder) to Cleveland in exchange for the No. 2 selection, which would allow the Vikings to select Travis Hunter while supplying the Browns with their quarterback of the future and a ton of assets.

Of course, if Cleveland is dead set on one of Sanders or Ward, then this won't even be a possibility, but let's keep in mind that McCarthy was selected very highly in an incredibly deep quarterback class last year, so he definitely has value.

It may make sense for the Browns to take a swing on McCarthy while also accumulating a bunch of other draft picks to fill out the rest of the holes on their roster.

Now, would the Vikings pay such a steep price to move up for Hunter? Maybe not, but it's definitely something to potentially monitor heading into the offseason.