5 QB-focused NFL Draft trades the Vikings could make with 2 first-round picks

The Minnesota Vikings are lining up their chess pieces. What they’re missing is a queen.

While the king may be endemic to the game’s finish, no piece means move to a player’s attack than the one that can traverse the board unlike any other. Kirk Cousins was that presence the last six years, but now he’s an Atlanta Falcon. Sam Darnold arrived in the Twin Cities on a one-year contract for entirely too much money, but can’t be counted on to be anything more than a stopgap measure.

The most reliable way to procure a franchise quarterback, despite Minnesota’s past success with Washington castoff Cousins, is through the draft. Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has spent his offseason telling the world that’s exactly what he plans to do. From signing Darnold to staying mum on deals for young former starters/turnaround candidates (Justin Fields, Mac Jones, Desmond Ridder) to, most importantly, swinging a deal for the Houston Texans’ first round pick.

By sending two second round picks south, Adofo-Mensah now has the 11th and 23rd selections in the 2024 NFL Draft. There may have been a useful, game-changing quarterback lingering outside the top 10 this spring, but two Day 1 selections give Minnesota the leverage to deal its way up the draft board and potentially even land a top three quarterback.

Let’s take a look at some theoretical deals the Vikings could make armed with assets and understanding the needs of the nine teams ahead of them in the draft order.