The Chicago Bears seem intent on not staying put at #9 overall when the 1st round begins next Thursday night. GM Ryan Poles is determined to stockpile more draft picks and gain further flexibility. The obvious question is finding a team willing to pay the necessary price to come up. There are some popular mentions in that regard. Pittsburgh at #17 is the hottest. Washington at #16 and Tampa Bay at #19 are two others worth watching. However, this is the draft. There is always at least one sleeper team looming in the shadows.
In this case, that team is the Minnesota Vikings. It sounds crazy. Inter-division trades are rare in the NFL but with that new Vikings regime. In a span of only a few months, their GM, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, made not one but two blockbuster deals with the Detroit Lions. One involved dropping all the way from 12th to 32nd in the 1st round. The other saw them acquire tight end T.J. Hockenson. It’s clear Adofo-Mensah has no fear of trading with rivals. So the idea of moving up from #23 to #9 won’t bother him.
His target would be a quarterback.
Reports out of Minnesota are that the Vikings are looking for an exit strategy from Kirk Cousins. Some involve swapping with San Francisco for Trey Lance. Others think they might move up in the 1st round if Will Levis or Anthony Richardson drop far enough. Will Ragatz of Inside The Vikings explained.
“All the way down at 23, the Vikings might be a deep, deep sleeper here. They’re reportedly doing plenty of work on the quarterbacks in this year’s draft, which makes sense considering Kirk Cousins turns 35 this summer and is headed into the final year of his contract. Thus far, the thought has been that if the Vikings want to add a rookie quarterback, their options are somewhat limited. They could trade up for Will Levis if he falls a bit, select Hendon Hooker at 23, or take a swing on someone like Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the middle rounds.”
The Chicago Bears would be wise to listen.
There is one issue facing the Vikings in such a scenario. They don’t have a lot of picks to throw around. They already gave their 2nd rounder this year to Detroit for Hockenson. A 3rd rounder won’t be enough to jump that far. That means they’d have to give up their 1st in 2024 to enter the conversation. Either that or Minnesota could dangle a player in the deal similar to what Carolina did. One name mentioned in trade rumors recently is star pass rusher, Danielle Hunter. He’s coming off ten sacks last season and is seeking a new contract.
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There is no question he would be a perfect fit in the Chicago Bears defense. He’s still only 28 years old. Poles has more than enough money to pay him a new contract. Minnesota would get their QB and not have to surrender any picks in the deal. Is it likely? No. Still, the possibility is greater than you’d think. The Vikings feel like a team ready to hit the reset button. Most of their core players are in their 30s. The Bears should take advantage of that if the opportunity presents itself.
