The Minnesota Vikings made an NFL draft trade on Friday, and it could very well be the setup for another swap.
The team acquired a first-round pick (No. 23 overall) and a seventh-round pick (No. 232) as part of a trade with the Houston Texans, who take back a 2024 second-round pick (No. 42 overall), a 2024 sixth-round pick (No. 188) and a 2025 second-round pick.
The Vikings now own two first-round picks in 2024: their own selection at No. 11 overall and the No. 23 pick from the Texans.
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With quarterback Kirk Cousins leaving Minnesota for Atlanta in free agency, all eyes will be on what the Vikings do at the position.
The Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders and New England Patriots own the top three picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, respectively, and all three figure to be in the market for new signal-callers. However, there is precedent for a team moving up from the Vikings' range and into the top three.
In 2021, the San Francisco 49ers went from No. 12 to No. 3 in the draft through a trade with the Miami Dolphins. The 49ers forked over the No. 12 selection in that year's draft, a 2021 third-rounder, a 2022 first-rounder and a 2023 first-rounder to the Dolphins and wound up selecting quarterback Trey Lance third overall.
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Going back even further, the Philadelphia Eagles pulled off two trades to land a franchise quarterback in the draft. They first went from No. 13 to No. 8 in a 2016 deal with the Dolphins before packaging that pick in a bigger deal with the Cleveland Browns to get to No. 2 and take Carson Wentz.
Looking further down the 2024 NFL Draft order, neither the Arizona Cardinals (No. 4) nor Los Angeles Chargers (No. 5) are in the market for new starting quarterbacks. The New York Giants are next at No. 6, and the Tennessee Titans could be a trade-down candidate at No. 7.
