Minnesota’s built it’s offense over the past few years where they’d go into this season capable of supporting a rookie quarterback. The Vikings have an offensive line anchored by tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, and have skill-position talent such as Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson, and Aaron Jones, who they signed in free agency. Minnesota also has a solid quarterbacking infrastructure from coach Kevin O’Connell to OC Wes Phillips to QBs coach Josh McCown.
Trading Jefferson would make the whole thing pretty wobbly for a young quarterback the Vikings pick in two weeks, presuming they find a way to get one.
Now, that’s not to say that this will be easy. Jefferson was eligible for a deal a year ago. He’s since incurred another year of injury risk and sustained a hamstring injury, causing him to miss seven games. The quarterback uncertainty would—for a guy with Jefferson’s goals—have to be a factor, too. And over the past two years, since the explosion of deals in 2022 (Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, A.J. Brown, etc.), the receiver market hasn’t moved much, meaning there’s a correction coming, especially given what we’ve seen happen with defensive lineman.
So where’s the number for Jefferson? It’s sky high, for sure, and more than $30 million per year. It’s going to be a challenge to get a deal done, but one I think the Vikings dive headlong into after the draft, with the goal of making sure Jefferson is on the roster for a long time to come.
Hunter and David, this idea is really interesting to me. Chicago has improved its roster under GM Ryan Poles, to the point where there aren’t a ton of needs necessitating having 10 or 12 picks in the draft. I also love the concept of having Harrison develop as an NFL player with Caleb Williams, and under the tutelage of pros such as Keenan Allen and DJ Moore.
