ESPN’s Field Yates got Vikings’ fans talking when he proposed Minnesota send tackle Riley Reiff to the Chargers for cornerback Desmond King.
On the surface, it’s not a surprise Yates picked a cornerback as a fit for the Vikings. King has been a name that has been floated on the rumor mill for a little bit and the Vikings overhauled the entire position this offseason. King has only played three seasons in the NFL, but even that would make him the most experienced contributor at the position for the Vikings.
Plus, King is pretty good! While his size and skillset might be redundant for the Vikings, he did finish with a Pro Football Focus grade of 70.9, a mark that ranked 29th of 116 ranked players.
The issue here is probably the compensation. This isn’t to say that Reiff is an All-Pro tackle, because he’s not. But given the Vikings’ lack of depth on the offensive line, Reiff being average is actually a huge boost to this team. More snaps to Pat Elflein at guard (considering Reiff slides to guard when Ezra Cleveland is ready to take over at left tackle) seems problematic.
It’s a thought-provoking trade to think about, but one that probably doesn’t really make much sense for the Vikings unless they magically find more depth at offensive line.