NFL rumors: Vikings' next move up in NFL Draft could be with a shocking trade partner

The Minnesota Vikings are up to something. While I don't think their general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is craving some Five Guys Around 3, he could conceivably have his team picking in that range if they were to use a bunch of their precious draft capital to move up. Yes, the Vikings made a deal on Friday morning, as they acquired the No. 23 overall pick in a trade with the Houston Texans.

Minnesota may have signed Sam Darnold in NFL free agency, but he is merely a stop-gap for them. Don't let the Vikings tell you otherwise. We know what he is, and that man sees ghosts. So what are the Vikings to do now that they let Kirk Cousins walk to the Atlanta Falcons? Use their No. 11 pick and the No. 23 pick they just got from the Texans to go and get a quarterback. Who could they trade with?

I wrote about this earlier in that the Vikings' most realistic trade partners to move up from No. 11 are either the Arizona Cardinals picking at No. 4 or the Los Angeles Chargers picking at No. 5. While I did mention that either the Washington Commanders picking at No. 2 or the New England Patriots picking at No. 3 were possibilities, I remain skeptical those are likely trade partners, but then again...

Fate would have it, a day before this trade between the Vikings and Texans dropped, Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks of the NFL Network floated an idea about Minnesota possibly moving up to No. 2. It would entail Minnesota taking Drake Maye second overall and the Commanders going back to No. 11 to take either J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix or even Michael Penix Jr. They could also move back up to No. 5...

I don't know if Washington would want to take on this amount of risk, but this idea is now in play.

NFL rumors: Could Vikings have a trade partner in the Commanders?

If the Commanders were to move back from No. 2 to No. 11 in a deal with the Vikings, they would easily be in the range to draft either Nix out of Oregon, as well as Penix out of Washington. While there is a chance McCarthy could still be on the board, don't count on it. If Washington wanted Maye, the Commanders could trade back up to No. 5 with the Bolts, but keep in mind who is picking at No. 6.

To me, the New York Giants have the potential to thumbscrew everything here. I haven't seen someone mess things up in New York more on a regular basis since Ross Geller on Friends. Like The Rembrandts, I'll be there for you... In the meantime, we'll just wait and see. Trading in-conference is never easy, but that is what it may take for the Vikings to get their quarterback of the future this year.

If the Vikings were to somehow get to No. 2, just take Jayden Daniels and thank me later. He may not have the build of Drake Maye, but he was the far better college player. Honestly, no matter who the Vikings take at quarterback in the upcoming draft, that guy is going to be a stud. I may not trust Adofo-Mensah at all, but Kevin O'Connell is a helluva offensive-minded coach. I believe in the dude.

Overall, there is a way that the Vikings and Commanders can come out of this draft more than okay, assuming they are potential, but unlikely trade partners. Of course, it would involve both of them making a slew of trades. Then again, both Adofo-Mensah and new Washington general manager Adam Peters come from the San Francisco 49ers' school of doing business, so let's make a deal!

This potential trade proposal is far easier to visualize now that the Vikings have the No. 23 pick.