More than a month ahead of the draft, the Vikings reached an agreement to acquire an additional first-round pick. Minnesota and Houston agreed to a trade Friday involving only draft picks.
The NFC North team will part with two second-rounders to move up this year. The Vikings will obtain the Texans‘ 2024 first-rounder — No. 23 overall — and a 2024 seventh in exchange for Nos. 42, 188 and a 2025 second-round pick, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report.
This will give the Vikings another asset if they are serious about moving up for a quarterback. The Texans, who obtained the No. 23 overall pick from the Browns in the Deshaun Watson trade, will not have a 2024 first-rounder now. But they now hold two second-rounders in 2024 and ’25.
Minnesota now holds the Nos. 11 and 23 overall picks in this year’s draft. The deal could give the team a chance to add two starter-caliber rookies to team with Sam Darnold. Perhaps more likely: it provides a team transitioning at quarterback — following Kirk Cousins‘ Falcons defection — with a better asset to acquire a long-term replacement. Early-offseason rumblings about the Vikings’ interest in trading up surfaced; this deal will provide them with a better chance at moving into range for one of the top QB prospects.
QB injuries have led the Vikings to continually turn to veterans at quarterback this century. Daunte Culpepper‘s six-season run as Minnesota’s QB1 ended with an October 2005 ACL tear. Teddy Bridgewater saw his time as the team’s starter end with a severe knee injury during training camp in 2016. The likes of Brett Favre, Sam Bradford, Case Keenum and Cousins have stepped in. But with Cousins moving on after six years — as the Vikings did not offer their longtime starter the guarantees the Falcons did in a four-year, $180MM deal — could put the Vikes on a path to make another first-round effort to land a passer.
Since the 1999 Culpepper pick, Minnesota has not enjoyed good luck choosing first-round passers. Neither Bridgewater nor Christian Ponder panned out as a long-term option. The Vikings, however, have never chosen a quarterback in the top 10 of a draft. The Nos. 11 and 23 selections could serve as the lead assets in a deal to potentially move into the top three, though it would not surprise to see the Patriots — who sit at No. 3 — to ask for more for a draft pick that could lead to a Drake Maye or J.J. McCarthy investment. McCarthy may well be available further down the board, but the Michigan prospect’s stock is climbing. It is certainly possible the Vikings would be stuck with the draft’s fifth-best QB if they stay at 11.
Third-year GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will receive more attention this offseason, having a chance to grab his own quarterback after effectively renting Cousins for two seasons. Darnold agreed to a one-year, $10MM deal, but the former No. 3 overall pick should be considered a bridge QB. The Broncos also showed interest in Darnold, and while they may not have submitted an offer, this trade leaves another obvious candidate to select a QB lacking in ammo by comparison. Sean Payton‘s team — thanks to the move to acquire the head coach — does not have a second-round pick. Denver sits at No. 12.
For the Texans, this move marks a considerable change with regards to their 2024 draft arsenal. The Watson trade had given the team two 2024 firsts, but GM Nick Caserio dealt the team’s own pick to move up for Will Anderson last year. But the C.J. Stroud pick has changed Houston’s trajectory. Picking up seconds in back-to-back drafts provides Houston the opportunity to add more quality cost-controlled starters around its new franchise quarterback.