Minnesota Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman and Minnesota Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher watch warm ups before the game with the Tennessee Titans at Mall of America Field at H.H.H. Metrodome. Vikings win 24-23. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Vikings were incredibly aggressive in last year’s draft, and they finished with three first-round picks in cornerback Xavier Rhodes, defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, and playmaking wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. But instead of trading up this year, it sounds like the Vikings want to trade down and stockpile draft picks and depth in the 2014 NFL Draft.
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Master Tesfatsion, Vikings GM Rick Spielman stated that although the team currently has eight picks, he would like to have ten selections in this year’s draft. Spielman said, “I really, really think we’re going to be doing a lot of movement in the draft.”
The Vikings are pretty much guaranteed to take a quarterback in the first round of the draft, but it would really be interesting if the Vikings traded down from the eighth pick, though they could also just as easily trade up. QB isn’t the Vikings only need, of course, and they could really use two new starters in the secondary.
All of the uncertainty surrounding the Vikings draft-day plans just makes Spielman’s quote all the more notable, and I’m sure we’re in for a fun day of trading when it comes to the Vikings in this year’s draft.