Rumored Vikings draft move won't help relationship with Justin Jefferson

Justin Jefferson is sitting out Minnesota Vikings OTAs while he awaits a new contract. Will he get the historic deal he's looking for? There's reason for some doubt.

Teams generally only invest market-leading contracts in players they're committed to. The Vikings aren't exactly shouting their commitment to Jefferson from the rooftops. The latest rumor from the NFL Draft undercuts the idea they truly believe Jefferson will be worth the value of his upcoming contract.

Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press dropped a nugget in his Sunday column ($) about there being "buzz at draft time that the Vikings wanted to move from No. 11 to No. 5, not to pick a quarterback but to get LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers, who was picked No. 6 by the Giants." He continued saying that "Jefferson would have been traded" if that draft blockbuster had been pulled off.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is the one who pointed this all out because he had heard the same rumor on Day 1 of the draft. PFT hadn't reported it because he couldn't get confirmation.

Draft rumor hints Vikings aren't fully committed to Justin Jefferson

If we believe the rumor, the Vikings were ready to spend valuable draft capital to draft Jefferson's replacement. That's after using a first-round draft pick on Jordan Addison last year. It's wild they were even thinking about using a first-round pick on a receiver when they had a giant hole at quarterback to fill.

As Walters pointed out in his column, the Vikings have a ton of payroll available. They've lost their two highest salaries from last year's squad with Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter gone. They don't have anyone signed to a contract with $20 million or more AAV. So why were they trying to avoid Jefferson's payday via a bold draft move?

It could be they don't want to commit $100 million to any wide receiver. That's a perfectly reasonable perspective. If that's the case, they should trade Jefferson and be done with it. He's certainly not going to lower his asking price, especially with all the handwringing from the Vikings.