The Minnesota Vikings acquired the Houston Texans’ first-round pick in March. The thought was they did it so they would have the ammo to trade up for one of the top quarterbacks.
As of Sunday, that hasn’t happened.
Speaking on ESPN’s “Get Up,” reporter Kimberley A. Martin reported that in a “perfect world” the Vikings would trade up prior to the start of the NFL draft Thursday. She stated, “(The Vikings have) been on the phone to actively move up. … In a perfect world, they would start Thursday with that top-five pick already in hand.”
Starting the draft with a top pick already in hand saves them from making a desperate move during it. On that point, I am not sure they can land a trade prior to teams seeing how the board falls. Make no mistake about it, the top-end talent that is so prevalent in the draft is going to cause problems for those looking to trade up.
Teams will be making moves for quarterbacks, offensive tackles and wide receivers. The Vikings are facing an uphill battle, but they arguably have the most ammo to make a move and the right motivation.