The Minnesota Vikings made waves a few days ago when they traded up with the Houston Texans to acquire a second first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, potentially setting themselves up to trade up again for a top-10 or even a top-five pick. Judging by comments from the Vikings’ owner, their plan seems increasingly clear.
In an interview with NFL Network, Vikings co-owner Mark Wilf said that while the team loves newly-acquired quarterback Sam Darnold, the quarterback position remains “critical” for the team. To that end, he has general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell working hard to address it.
“Well, we love Sam Darnold. But when it comes to the quarterback position, it’s certainly critical,” Wilf told NFL Network’s Steve Wyche and Tom Pelissero. “Kwesi and Coach O’Connell are working hard. We’ve got a plan and Sam Darnold’s part of it. We’re excited he’s in the building. We’re excited we have two first-round picks. So, we’ll see where it all goes. We have a lot of flexibility and we’ll see what happens.”
Those comments have led to many speculating that the Vikings are positioning themselves to trade up with the New England Patriots for the No. 3 overall pick in the upcoming draft. That would put them in a position to draft one of the top prospects.
The Patriots are believed to be highly interested in getting a quarterback, but it’s not clear if they’re completely married to the idea – or if they’ll still want to if they don’t like options available to them at No. 3 overall.
Will the Vikings make a trade for the Patriots’ first-round pick?