The Minnesota Vikings have four draft selections in this year’s Top 100, but according to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, they might add even more. Barnwell picked the Vikings to trade with the Chicago Bears — of all teams — during the draft in two weeks, a strange choice as the two clubs rarely do business together.
Minnesota may have an unusual trade-back path on the board.
Barnwell just doesn’t give a damn about NFC North norms.
A Rare NFC North Draft Swap Just Entered the Conversation
Believe it or not, the Vikings are actually trade-back candidates this go-round.
The MIN-CHI Deal per Barnwell
Barnwell identified one trade for each NFL team to consider during the draft, and here’s his idea for the Vikings:
Minnesota Gets:
Pick No. 25 (R1)
Pick No. 60 (R2)
Chicago Gets:
Pick No. 18 (R1)
Pick No. 163 (R5)
Barnwell explained, “Ryan Poles has already addressed some of his team’s weaknesses this offseason, but the Bears should still hope to add something meaningful on the edge. Montez Sweat is a very solid starter on one side of the line, but Dayo Odeyingbo is coming off a torn Achilles and didn’t look good in his debut season as a Bears player before the injury.”
“Odeyingbo has no guaranteed money due in 2027, so this trade would be for a rookie who can rotate with him in 2026 before taking over as the starter next year. The Bears have an extra second-round pick after trading DJ Moore to the Bills, which would make this deal easier to stomach in Chicago.”
Aside from the partner, most fans would welcome the actual trade package with open arms.
“Brzezinski’s Vikings were the league’s third-oldest team on a snap-weighted basis last season, and that was with McCarthy and Max Brosmer taking the majority of the snaps at quarterback. Adofo-Mensah was wildly successful in free agency but struggled badly with his drafts, so the Vikings need to add more young talent to their core,” Barnwell continued.
“Picking up an extra second-round pick would make sense, especially after they made just one top-100 pick a year ago.”
Shattering Taboos
It’s considered strange and uncouth for the Vikings to do trade business with the Bears or any NFC North foe, and the same mentality applies to the Bears when dealing with the Green Bay Packers or Detroit Lions. If one side gets the better end of the trade, well, the losing squad has to experience the fallout in living color at least twice per season, with no exceptions.
In fact, the Vikings and Bears haven’t conducted any trade business since 2020. Not for nothing, that was a draft trade. If Barnwell is onto something, perhaps the squads are overdue to swap assets.
In 2022, then-new Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah traded with the Lions and Packers, paving the way for Detroit to grab wide receiver Jameson Williams and Green Bay to capture Christian Watson. There are outliers.
Who Could Vikings Target at No. 60?
If Minnesota pulled off the Barnwell trade, a shiny new draft pick would enter the mix — at a spot that Vikings fans haven’t much considered during the pre-draft process.
Regardless, the would-be draft options at No. 60 would look something like this, according to the Consensus Big Board:
- Chris Bell (WR, Louisville)
- Eli Stowers (TE, Vanderbilt)
- D’Angelo Ponds (CB, Indiana)
- Germie Bernard (WR, Alabama)
- A.J. Haulcy (S, LSU)
- Derrick Moore (EDGE, Michigan)
- Keith Abney II (CB, Arizona State)
- Keionte Scott (CB, Miami (FL))
- Josiah Trotter (LB, Missouri)
- Zachariah Branch (WR, Georgia)
- Domonique Orange (DL, Iowa State)
- Treydan Stukes (CB, Arizona)
- Malachi Fields (WR, Notre Dame)
- Dani Dennis-Sutton (EDGE, Penn State)
- Mike Washington Jr. (RB, Arkansas)
- Antonio Williams (WR, Clemson)
- Connor Lew (IOL, Auburn)
Vikings fans have been especially high on Ponds, Stukes, Washington Jr., and Lew on social media as of late.
What about Seven Spots Back in R1?
By sliding back seven spots in the Barnwell transaction, Minnesota might disqualify itself from these players:
- Jordyn Tyson (WR, Arizona State)
- Kenyon Sadiq (TE, Oregon)
- Dillon Thieneman (S, Oregon)
Barring a change of momentum, those three won’t quite make it to pick No. 25. At the “new” selection, however, Minnesota could probably entertain these rookies:
- Avieon Terrell (CB, Clemson)
- Omar Cooper Jr. (WR, Indiana)
- Peter Woods (DL, Clemson)
- Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (S, Toledo)
- T.J. Parker (EDGE, Clemson)
- Kevin Concepcion (WR, Texas A&M)
- Kayden McDonald (DL, Ohio State)
- Denzel Boston (WR, Washington)
- C.J. Allen (LB, Georgia)
- Cashius Howell (EDGE, Texas A&M)
- Colton Hood (CB, Tennessee)
- Caleb Banks (DL, Florida)
So, for example, a fan must ask herself if the Vikings drafting McNeil-Warren at No. 25, Stukes or Ponds at No. 60, and keeping Minnesota’s organic 49th pick is worth the squeeze.
Probably — particularly if they enjoy the personnel available at pick No. 25.
All signs would point to a defensive lineman or EDGE for Chicago at Minnesota’s pick, possibly Miami’s Keldric Faulk.
