NFC North News: Vikings Make MASSIVE NFL Draft Trade

The Minnesota Vikings are making power moves in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Vikings traded the No. 42, No. 188, and a 2025 second-round pick to the Houston Texans for the No. 23 and No. 232 selections.

Put another way, Minnesota now has two first-round picks in April’s draft.

Vikings now have announced a draft-pick trade with the Texans:

Vikings receive: No. 23 and No. 232

Texans receive: No. 42, No. 188 and a 2025 2nd-round pick.

Minnesota now positioned to potentially pursue a quarterback in round one. pic.twitter.com/CcUntPpNmE

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2024

There’s no doubt the Vikings have their heart set on selecting a quarterback, and acquiring a second first-round pick gives them the necessary ammunition to trade up for their QB-next. Minnesota now holds the No. 11 and No. 23 overall picks.

The 2024 NFL Draft is rich at quarterback. Caleb Williams (USC), Jayden Daniels (LSU), Drake Maye (UNC), and JJ McCarthy (Michigan) are all projected to be top-10 picks, while Bo Nix (Oregon) and Michael Penix (Washington) have a shot to go in the first round too.

The Vikings lost the Kirk Cousins bidding war to the Atlanta Falcons in free agency and have settled on Sam Darnold as their QB1… for now. It’s highly unlikely Minnesota views Darnold as a legitimate starting quarterback and could end up doing what the Chicago Bears did in 2017. You remember the year: the Bears signed Mike Glennon, whose tenure as the starting quarterback all but ended when Chicago selected Mitch Trubisky in the first round.

(Sorry for bringing that up).

All eyes will be on the Vikings and their quarterback plan over the next several weeks.