{"id":81442,"date":"2024-01-17T09:01:03","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T09:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=81442"},"modified":"2024-01-17T09:01:03","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T09:01:03","slug":"vikings-predicted-to-trade-justin-jefferson-for-top-5-pick-draft-haul-kieu-linh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/vikings-predicted-to-trade-justin-jefferson-for-top-5-pick-draft-haul-kieu-linh\/","title":{"rendered":"Vikings Predicted to Trade Justin Jefferson for Top-5 Pick, Draft Haul"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is nearly unthinkable that the\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0could trade All-Pro\u00a0Justin Jefferson, arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL and only on the cusp of his prime. However, there are some analysts who are doing more than just thinking about it \u2014 they\u2019re predicting it will happen.<\/p>\n

\"Justin<\/p>\n

Alex Kay of Bleacher Report predicted\u00a0on Tuesday, January 16, that the Vikings will deal Jefferson to the\u00a0Arizona Cardinals\u00a0in return for their 2024 first-round pick (No. 4 overall), 2025 first-round pick as well as a third-rounder this year.<\/p>\n

\n

According to the\u00a0Pioneer Press\u2018\u00a0Charley Walters, a \u201cfull-scale rebuild\u201d could occur in the Twin Cities this offseason. Walters noted that it wouldn\u2019t make sense for Minnesota to give Jefferson an extension estimated to be worth around $30 million annually if the team is expecting to endure some lean years over the majority of the contract\u2019s duration.<\/p>\n

A franchise like the Arizona Cardinals could be highly interested if Jefferson becomes available. Arizona is loaded with draft capital this year, owning 13 selections overall with six of them coming in the top 90 and two in the first round. Converting some of those picks into a player of Jefferson\u2019s caliber would be a shrewd move for a franchise looking to contend again with a healthy\u00a0Kyler Murray at the helm.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Vikings Highly Unlikely to Trade Justin Jefferson if They Figure Out Answer at QB Position<\/h2>\n

\"Justin<\/h2>\n

The Vikings own the No. 11 pick in the 2024 NFL draft. The team can trade up and try to procure one of the top QB prospects like\u00a0Jayden Daniels\u00a0of LSU, or trade down and pick up a talented signal-caller with upside and a wealth of college experience \u2014 perhaps\u00a0Bo Nix\u00a0of Oregon.<\/p>\n

Minnesota could also deal for a player like\u00a0Justin Fields, who the\u00a0Chicago Bears\u00a0could trade in the coming weeks as they prepare plans for the No. 1 overall selection.<\/p>\n

However, the most likely and surest path to securing an elite-level QB is to re-sign\u00a0Kirk Cousins. Cousins has started in Minnesota for the past six seasons but will be a free agent in March. He will turn 36 years old ahead of next year and is coming off of a season-ending Achilles tear, but he was also playing the best football of his career during his second campaign under head coach\u00a0Kevin O\u2019Connell.<\/p>\n

Vikings Want Kirk Cousins Back in 2024, but on Team\u2019s Terms<\/h2>\n

\"Kirk<\/h2>\n

General manager\u00a0Kwesi Adofo-Mensah\u00a0said on January 10 that he wants Cousins to return in 2024 and potentially beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve said that [I want Cousins back],\u201d\u00a0Adofo-Mensah told reporters. \u201cI\u2019ve been pretty consistent with that. Kirk \u2026 is somebody that we saw what he does to this team. I thought we were playing really good football before he got injured, and it\u2019s the most important position in sports.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the Vikings GM has also couched his desire to bring Cousins back in ambiguities regarding a new contract for the QB, both in terms of years and overall cost.\u00a0Adofo-Mensah also implied\u00a0last week that the franchise won\u2019t fear \u201ctaking a step back,\u201d if that\u2019s what is required.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaking a step back in the short term isn\u2019t a big deal if you don\u2019t think you\u2019re actually close,\u201d Adofo-Mensah said,\u00a0according to The Athletic.<\/p>\n

If the Vikings do play the next season or two on their proverbial back foot, it could open the door to a Jefferson trade \u2014 especially considering the team drafted a potential replacement for the All-Pro in rookie\u00a0Jordan Addison\u00a0last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is nearly unthinkable that the\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0could trade All-Pro\u00a0Justin Jefferson, arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL and only on the cusp of his prime. However,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81442\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlbhi.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}