Three Vikings Players Who Could Be Trade Candidates This Offseason

Following the draft, could these Vikings players be potential trade chips?

Jan 7, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens (12) / Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

The Vikings' recent 2024 draft class was highlighted by the selection of two exciting, high-upside prospects — Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy and Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner — within the first 17 picks of the first round. They have a chance to be cornerstone players in Minnesota and a huge part of the franchise's future. The downside, if you want to call it that, is that the Vikings gave up a lot of draft capital to trade up for both players.

Right now, the Vikings have just three selections in next year's draft: Their first-round pick and a pair of fifth-rounders. They're also expected to get a compensatory third-round pick for losing Kirk Cousins in free agency, but even four picks would be the smallest draft class in team history.

One way GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could add to his stable of 2025 picks is by trading away a player or two this year. Here are three guys who could potentially fetch the Vikings a late-round draft pick in a trade between now and Week 1 (or the midseason trade deadline).

QB Nick Mullens

Dec 16, 2023; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens (12) / Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

By adding McCarthy, the Vikings now have four quarterbacks on their roster. Free agent pickup Sam Darnold and McCarthy will compete for the starting job, Mullens is the veteran QB3, and 2023 draft pick Jaren Hall is still around as well. It's not too difficult to imagine the Vikings dealing Mullens to a team in need of a better backup option, getting a late-round pick back, and going into the season with a QB room of Darnold, McCarthy, and Hall.

In August 2022, the Vikings weren't happy with either Sean Mannion or Kellen Mond as their backup behind Kirk Cousins, so they traded a conditional seventh-round pick to the Raiders to get Mullens. He then signed a two-year, $4 million deal last March to remain with the team. Last December, with Cousins out for the year and Josh Dobbs struggling, the Vikings gave Mullens an opportunity. He played in the final five games of the season, starting three of them, and put up 2019 Jameis Winston-like numbers. Mullens averaged 370 passing yards per game in his three starts, but his six touchdown passes came with a whopping eight interceptions. The Vikings lost all three of those games against the Bengals and Lions (twice) to fall out of the playoff hunt.

Mullens has made 20 career starts with a passer rating of 88.1, he put some impressive things on tape last year despite the severe turnover problem, and he's a pending UFA with a base salary of $1.72 million. If there's a team out there looking to upgrade their backup QB spot later this summer, the Vikings might be able to get a sixth or seventh-round pick for Mullens. The downside of doing so is that they'd be an injury away from Hall — who looked very lost in his New Year's Eve start against the Packers last season — being thrust into the QB2 role.

OLB Pat Jones II

Nov 19, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Pat Jones II (91) / Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Much like McCarthy's arrival could make Mullens expendable, the same could be said for Turner's arrival impacting Jones. The Vikings have a strong top three in their outside linebacker room with Turner joining veteran starters Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel. Jones will likely be fourth in line for playing time this season, but there's also some interesting young depth behind him in 2023 UDFA Andre Carter II and 2024 UDFA Gabriel Murphy (who has a chance to be a steal).

Jones was a third-round pick in 2021 who is now in the final year of his rookie deal. He had four sacks and eight total TFL in a rotational role in 2022, flashing some upside in the process. He then struggled a bit in an expanded role last season, posting just one sack, five total TFL, and 32 pressures while going from 308 defensive snaps to 634. Still, Jones offers some trade appeal as a former Day 2 pick who turns 26 this year and has had some NFL production. He also has special teams experience and a base salary of just $1.32 million. Jones could perhaps fetch the Vikings a late-round pick if they're comfortable leaning on Carter and Murphy for depth off the edge.

CB Akayleb Evans

Dec 16, 2023; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Minnesota Vikings cornerback Akayleb Evans (21) / Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

Evans, a 2022 fourth-round pick, still has two years left on his rookie deal. That could make him valuable to the Vikings as a depth piece at a position where depth is often needed, but it could also make him a theoretically intriguing trade chip. Evans, who turns 25 this summer, has shown some real flashes of upside as a long, athletic corner over the past two seasons. He started two games as a rookie and 15 last year, with inconsistent results. Evans had an interception, three forced fumbles, and seven passes defended in 2023, but he also struggled mightily as a tackler (PFF charged him with 18 missed tackles, which was tied with teammate Byron Murphy Jr. for the most among NFL cornerbacks).

The Vikings' top three corners this year are Murphy, Shaq Griffin, and Mekhi Blackmon, and Khyree Jackson was just added to that mix as a fourth-round pick. That could make Evans expendable at the right price. The same logic could also apply to 2022 second-rounder Andrew Booth Jr., but he hasn't shown anything that suggests the Vikings could get a draft pick back for him.

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