Will Vikings stay put at No. 11?
Just a few days after the Vikings lost quarterback Kirk Cousins in free agency, they acquired the 23rd overall pick in the draft through a trade with the Texans. It has been assumed that Minnesota made the deal as a step toward packaging it with their original pick (No. 11) for a move up to get a quarterback.
As we get closer to the draft, it's fair to wonder whether they will, or whether they'll sit tight at No. 11.
There are six quarterbacks that could be taken in the top half of the round: Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix, J.J. McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr., and Drake Maye. If the Vikings believe that coach Kevin O'Connell will get the most out of whoever they draft, why not sit tight and let the pieces, and quarterbacks, fall?
The process entails plenty of risk. The Bears, who have the ninth pick, and the Jets, who select at No. 10, could become partners in potential trades with the Broncos at No. 12 and the Raiders at No. 13. Both of those teams need quarterbacks, and either could be willing to jump the line in front of Minnesota to get one the Vikings would otherwise take.
It will take a lot to move to No. 3 or No. 4. It's possible that the Patriots and Cardinals, respectively, will put a thumb or two on the scale in order to take advantage of Minnesota's apparent desperation.
It might be that the Vikings will let the first four picks play out, and then to potentially target a trade with the Chargers at No. 5. Other deals could be offered to the Giants at No. 6, the Titans at No. 7, or the Falcons at No. 8.
Or maybe the Vikings are quietly holding out hope that the end result of the investigation regarding Atlanta's blatant tampering with Cousins (and it was blatant, frankly) will result in a flip-flop of picks No. 8 and No. 11. (There's no specific reason to think that will happen, but it's not impossible that the league would select this sanction — and announce it literally five minutes before the draft starts.)
Regardless, the Vikings have options. Those choices include not drafting a quarterback at all, and using picks No. 11 and No. 23 on addressing other positions and attempting to get the kind of performance out of Sam Darnold that made him the third pick in the 2018 draft.
