Analyzing ESPN's Vikings Trade Ideas Involving Danielle Hunter, Jordan Hicks

Bill Barnwell came up with two hypothetical trades for Minnesota. Let's take a look at them.

As he does every year, ESPN's Bill Barnwell came up with some very interesting hypothetical trades in a recent article. Two of them involve the Vikings being sellers. Let's take a look.

1. Vikings trade Danielle Hunter within the division

• Lions get: EDGE Danielle Hunter, 2024 fifth-round pick
• Vikings get: 2024 second-round pick, EDGE James Houston, 2025 third-round pick (conditional)

Barnwell's explanation:

The Lions should go for it, right? At 4-1, they're well ahead of the NFC North and just a game back of the 49ers and Eagles at the top of the conference. Aidan Hutchinson is playing like a Defensive Player of the Year contender, but no other Lions defender has more than two sacks. Houston, who surprisingly had eight sacks as a rookie last season, is out indefinitely after fracturing his right ankle in Week 2. Veteran Romeo Okwara hasn't been the same since tearing his Achilles several years ago. While Charles Harris is a solid player, Detroit could dream of adding a second star across from Hutchinson on the edge.

Hunter is probably the best player with a realistic chance of being moved by this deadline. The 28-year-old standout has six sacks and a league-high nine tackles for loss through five games this season. He landed a one-year, $17 million deal after a hold-in this summer, but with free agency looming and the Vikings repeatedly reticent to offer him a new deal, he is likely to leave the organization in the offseason.

Other teams know that, which is why the Vikings wouldn't be likely to land a first-round pick for a player with three months remaining on his deal, even given Hunter's pedigree, 2023 production and age. The acquiring team would get to recoup a potential compensatory pick for him in free agency if it lost him, although that pick would be canceled out if the team spent on new free agents accordingly.

Trading Hunter would save the Vikings $8.3 million over the remainder of 2023. They would land Houston — who looks like a promising pass rush prospect with two years of team control remaining through restricted free agency — and a second-round pick in April's draft. They would also get a third-round pick in 2025 if Hunter re-signs with the Lions in free agency.

Most teams wouldn't be willing to trade a standout within their own division, but Minnesota general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah seems to relish making deals in the NFC North. The Lions traded up with their rivals to land wideout Jameson Williams in the 2022 draft then sent tight end T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings for draft picks last fall. A then-struggling Detroit team was sending a starter to the first-place Vikings. Now, those roles are reversed.

My analysis:

I don't think this is crazy to suggest. If the Vikings are going to make a splash by trading a player that isn't Kirk Cousins, Hunter is the only candidate that could actually bring back a solid return. In the event that Adofo-Mensah decides to sell, moving Hunter makes a lot of sense because you could get a guaranteed return that doesn't factor into the compensatory pick formula. It's also true that Adofo-Mensah has proven to be willing to trade within the division.

Then again, this would be a tough one to sell to fans. It's one thing for the Lions to send Hockenson to the Vikings, it's another for the Vikings to trade a top-tier pass-rusher like Hunter to the best team in the division. I think the return here — a second, a conditional third, and a young player who had eight sacks as a rookie — is decent enough, but are we sure the Vikings couldn't get a similar deal from a team not in the NFC North? Every contender could use an edge rusher of Hunter's caliber.

2. Vikings send Jordan Hicks to Buffalo

• Bills get: LB Jordan Hicks
• Vikings get: 2024 fifth-round pick

Barnwell's explanation:

Losing cornerback Tre'Davious White and linebacker Matt Milano to season-ending injuries in back-to-back games could sink the Bills, who can't possibly hope to replace either star with the players available at this trade deadline. Unless the Broncos are willing to trade Pat Surtain — and the Bills are willing to send the multiple first-round picks it would take to get that deal completed — Buffalo is going to need to hope that 2022 first-rounder Kaiir Elam can go from healthy scratch to reliable starter on the fly.

Milano is even more irreplaceable, especially given that the Bills were already starting over next to him at linebacker after losing Tremaine Edmunds in free agency. Terrel Bernard has locked down that role, and third-round rookie Dorian Williams could try to step in for Milano, but the Bills sorely need a veteran in the middle of the field. Buffalo re-signed A.J. Klein earlier this week, but the 32-year-old was out of football before returning to western New York; it's tough to believe he'll be an every-down starter over the rest of the season.

The 31-year-old Hicks has bounced around the league while starting for the Eagles, Cardinals and Vikings, giving him experience in a range of systems. He's no match for Milano in coverage, but he is a sure tackler and an efficient run defender, something the Bills will need in their matchups within the AFC East down the stretch. Hicks is owed about $2.5 million in prorated money over the remainder of the season, but he would be a logical fit for Buffalo, given the paucity of options available.

My analysis:

I've got no issue with this one, assuming the Vikings go into seller mode before the deadline. Hicks is having a great season, ranking 6th among 52 off-ball linebackers (minimum 200 snaps played) in PFF grade through five weeks. Still, he's an aging player on an expiring contract. If the Vikings can get a fifth for him in a lost season, they might as well do it. You'd love to land a fourth, but I'm not sure Hicks' track record in previous seasons supports that possibility.

Trading Hicks would allow the Vikings to see what they have in Brian Asamoah II alongside Ivan Pace Jr. for the rest of the season. It's the type of move that makes plenty of sense if the team doesn't plan on bringing Hicks back next spring.

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