It's time to mock draft!
Talked about the other teams in the division yesterday
Now onto the new one
Today we're focusing on the one thing that is as certain to happen as picks being made - Rick Spielman making trades.
Before going much further, there's a simple way that you can participate!
As for the GM, it's an absolute certainty that he will make deals during the three days of the draft. With that in mind, the baseline number was set & if you clicked the last link you know what it is!
If you didn't, here's another chance 😁
What the team does in the first round will set-off a train reaction for the six others and the undrafted-signees. That's true every year on the basis of the player selected but since they're in the unenviable position of a middle pick this year it also applies whether they move up or down.
There's an allure to trading up since hypothetically it allows for better players to be taken. But instead of thinking of it in an abstract manner, here's a concrete question: would any of you trade Everson Griffen (fourth round) for Matt Khalil (fourth pick overall)?
No, no you would not.
I know, that's an extreme example and maybe moving up to select Penei Sewell or Rashawn Slater would net the next Ronnie Stanley or David Bakhtiari for two Willie Beavers and a Scott Crichton. That would be the extreme on the other end of the spectrum. The not-knowing is a significant part of the allure that the three day football festival has managed.
On the other hand, if the opportunity to trade down while still adding a top-flight player presents itself I don't see how the team could turn it down. I've seen plenty of guesses that Alijah Vera-Tucker will last past the teens while others have him as a top-10 pick. All it takes is one team who thinks he can be comparable to Quenton Nelson for him to go at any time. But getting AV-T at say, pick 19, would give them more ammo to move back into the second round. And the second has arguably been Spielman's best round over the last several years so getting back into it is a must for Minnesota.
What happens after that is hard to predict or project since they already possess two picks in the third, four (!) in the fourth & two in the fifth but the absence of any in the seventh round combined with the team's considerable history of hoarding them makes that a safe bet as well. Add on that this year's group of receivers will have contributors come from that far into the process and finding a way to one or two of them becomes all the more imperative.
Trades have been broken down ad nauseam and over the final 48 hours that will continue but the significance of the moves meant they needed to be talked about a little bit more.
The official prediction for total number of trades made by Minnesota is seven.
But one last time, you can get in on that portion of the conversation
and the whole thing if you like!