There is less than a week until the NFL draft and interest continues to grow over what the Vikings will do to get their quarterback.
Minnesota remain one of the most talked about teams in the entire league heading into the draft. Kirk Cousins’ departure, an ideal landing spot for a rookie QB and two first-round picks place the Vikings as the most intriguing team on draft night.
The Vikings are one of just a handful of teams that have looked into one of the drafts top quarterbacks.
“You could have anywhere from four to six quarterbacks go in the first [round],” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero said on The Power Trip Morning Show on KFAN Friday morning.
“Washington had been putting out word for a while, even before Adam Peters said it publicly yesterday, that they’re not moving,” Pelissero continued. “But until we know what Washington is doing for sure, New England is not going to move.”
The Vikings and the Patriots have often been linked as trade partners over the past month. New England are one of the thinnest rosters in the league and could use multiple first-round picks to jumpstart their rebuild. Patriots insider Tom Curran said Wednesday that the Vikings are “1 million percent” the most likely trade partner if New England decides to move out of the No. 3 overall pick.
“And so, everybody is talking, the Patriots have definitely had conversations. There’s a bunch of teams, including the Vikings, that have had conversations about moving up but it’s a matter of what does Washington do at No. 2,” continued Pelissero.
Eliot Wolf, the de facto general manager of the Patriots, told reporters Thursday the team is “open for business” in regards to potentially trading their pick.
“Well they’ve been ‘open for business’ to the extent that they’ve listened, they’ve had conversations but again until we know what Washington does the Patriots are not going to move,” said Pelissero. “I think that the Patriots at this point have a pretty good idea of the framework of what they might be able to get for that No. 3 pick. But depending on what happens at No. 2 their quarterback might be sitting there.”
While reports surfaced Thursday of the Vikings attempting to get a trade up done before the draft starts, Pelissero thinks the Patriots will only orchestrate a move on draft night.
“I would anticipate, if the Patriots move it’s probably something that happens on the clock on Thursday night and the card is turned in and we know for certain who goes No. 2,” said Pelissero.
While Minnesota remain keen on moving up there are several QB targets they could draft if they do find there way up the draft board. The 2024 QB class is one of the most talent rich classes in recent memory.
“They’ve got several quarterbacks they like at the top and they’ve got other quarterbacks they like at a certain value point,” said Pelissero when discussing the Vikings’ plan for draft night. “You can argue there are reasons to believe each of these guys would fit into what they do.”
“I think it is safe to say – outside of Caleb Williams who is going to go to Chicago unless something goes completely sideways here – those other five guys, I don’t think you can rule out any of them. It’s just a matter of at what point between round one and round two would it make sense for the Minnesota Vikings,” continued Pelissero.
Those guys in question are Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, JJ McCarthy, Michael Penix, Jr., and Bo Nix.
“Kwesi and Kevin and those guys, they’ve done all the homework,” Pelissero said. “They’ve gone through every scenario. They have in mind what they would be willing to do to get to certain points. They’ve had those conversations. Now there’s not a whole lot more you can do other than gather the final information, wait and see and be ready to pounce on the best opportunity for the organization.”
