Coller names 5 players Vikings could target in trades if they go all in

One thing holding the Vikings back is draft capital as they only have one first-round pick and two fifth-round selections in 2025.

Sep 29, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers safety Nick Scott (21) and cornerback Jaycee Horn (8) take the field during 1st quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

If the Vikings are going to swing for the fences and make a trade, they have to cast their offers and strike a deal before the trade deadline arrives at 3 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Nov. 5. How aggressive will the Vikings be and do they have the ammo to trade for a star who can elevate the current roster even higher?

Purple Insider's Matthew Coller was asked in his weekly mailbag to name his top-five trade targets. He has some big-time players on his list to fill Minnesota's biggest areas of need.

"If they decided they were going all in, Jaycee Horn, Khalil Mack, Brandon Scherff, Tony Pollard and Jeffery Simmons (if they surprisingly make him available)," Coller responded. "Horn is probably the only one I’d give up the first rounder for. Where it would be really interesting is if the Bengals lose a few more games and are looking to trade [wide receiver Tee Higgins]. It doesn’t exactly make sense but if they’re all-all-all in, maybe it does."

Thanks for all the great questions. Here’s today’s mailbag in which Vikings fans are ….a little antsy about being 5-0 https://t.co/HPTysJwiWM https://t.co/xqOYokZhWg

— Matthew Coller (@MatthewColler) October 11, 2024

Horn is a 24-year-old cornerback whose fifth-year option (for $12m) was picked up by the Carolina Panthers. According to Pro Football Focus, Horn has been targeted 23 times this season and allowed 12 catches and an opposing passer rating of 83.1. He was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2021 draft.

Mack is on a one-year deal with the Chargers and will be a free agent in March. PFF grades him as the eighth-best edge rusher in the league when it comes to overall defense and he's fourth overall against the run among edge defenders.

Scherff, 32, is the veteran right guard for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He grades out in the middle of the pack in PFF's metrics (right next to MInnesota's Blake Brandel) and he would be a significant upgrade over current Vikings starting right guard Ed Ingram. Scherff has allowed just five pressures all season; Ingram has allowed 17.

Pollard would be a nice security blanket at running back if the Vikings don't fully trust Ty Chandler or if Aaron Jones's hip injury causes requires a reduced workload the rest of the regular season. Pollard is averaging 4.0 yards per carry (264 rushing yards) and has 13 receptions out of Tennessee's backfield through four games. He also carries cap hits of $8.5 million and $9.25 million in 2025 and 2026, respectively.

Simmons is in the first year of the four-year, $94 million deal he signed with the Titans and he's one of the best defensive tackles in the league. As Coller noted, it might be a long shot for Tennessee to part with him. Vikings On SI's Will Ragatz was on that same wavelength when he wrote about Vikings trade ideas earlier this week.

"Absent a big splash, a depth move at DT could make sense. Maybe a rental like the Jets' Javon Kinlaw or Tennessee's Sebastian Joseph-Day?" Ragatz wrote.

Whatever the Vikings decided to do, they are on the verge of getting tight end T.J. Hockenson back from injury and Dalton Risner's return from injured reserve could be the solution at right guard. Minnesota has options, and there are a lot of things that could change their outlook ahead of the deadline over the next three weeks.