The Minnesota Vikings have a lot of work to do before they’re considered contenders again in the NFC North, but this offseason can go a long way towards jump starting the new regime. Mike Zimmer is in town as the new head coach and general manager Rick Spielman wants to arm himself was at least 10 draft picks this upcoming May.
ESPN.com blogger Ben Goessling talked about Spielman’s plan and noted that it’s possible for the Vikings to skip taking a top quarterback or linebacker at No. 8 overall and trade down to compile more picks in the later rounds.
"He talked about this a little bit on Friday, and we discussed the possibility above, but I think there’s a chance the Vikings could trade back from No. 8 and pick up another choice or two in the process. That’s especially likely if the top QBs are gone by No. 8, since the number of underclassmen in this draft have pushed the depth to a point where the Vikings can probably get a good defensive player at, say, No. 12 or 13."
There’s a good chance that quarterbacks will be available on day two and decent ones at that. A.J. McCarron, Aaron Murray and others will still be on the board in all likelihood, which means that trading down from No. 8 overall might not be as disastrous as some Vikings fans may initially think.