On Monday, the NFL had one of its wilder days in recent memory, as the Los Angeles Rams acquired superstar defender Myles Garrett and receiver A.J. Brown was shipped to the New England Patriots.
Unsurprisingly, those deals dominate the NFL conversation this week, with training camp still more than a month away.
Alex Kay of Bleacher Report compiled a list of blockbuster trade ideas. Those included Maxx Crosby, Sam LaPorta, Jonathan Taylor, and Brian Thomas Jr., as well as one Vikings standout. Kay proposed a deal that would send Justin Jefferson to the Buffalo Bills to unite him with Josh Allen, the MVP of the 2024 season.
His proposal: “Minnesota Vikings receive: 2027 first-, second- and fourth-round picks, 2028 third- and fifth-round picks”
That’s a lot of draft capital. In fact, it’s almost an entire draft in exchange for Jefferson. Kay explained, “A team all-in on winning a Super Bowl this coming season would be the ideal suitor for Jefferson. The Buffalo Bills would be an intriguing choice after they came up painfully short last season. While they did trade for DJ Moore to bolster an undermanned receiving corps, they failed to land a true needle-mover to pair with star QB Josh Allen.”
“An Allen-Jefferson battery could put up historic numbers akin to what Randy Moss and Tom Brady accomplished with the 2007 New England Patriots. It would cost the Bills a haul of future picks to bring the tandem together, but doing so would give the club perhaps its best shot yet at a championship.”
Moss set the still-standing NFL record for receiving touchdowns with 23 in 2007, in one of the most explosive offenses in NFL history. Jefferson has been among the premier players in football since entering the league, while Josh Allen is an elite passer.
From a Bills perspective, pairing the two greats makes sense. For the Vikings, one could argue either way.
The case against a Jefferson trade is simple. He’s great and the goal is to have great players.
Jefferson has accumulated 8,480 receiving yards in six seasons, the most a player has ever had through his first six campaigns. Furthermore, he still holds the records for the most yards in the first two, three, four, and five seasons.
He’s a true nightmare for defenses, who have to build their entire game plan around his presence. Just as valuable an asset is his team-first mindset. There haven’t even been glimpses of the so-called diva-mentality.
Jefferson is the franchise player and one of the brightest stars in the league. The Vikings should support him, not send him elsewhere. Now, it should be said that while all of that is true, the team’s success hasn’t been there. Kay even noted, “The Minnesota Vikings have built their offense around Justin Jefferson, but they haven’t found much playoff success even with the superstar receiver making some herculean efforts. During his six years in the Twin Cities, the Vikings have made the playoffs just twice and failed to win a game during either trip.”
Having an elite wideout hasn’t translated to playoff success throughout the years. Strong trenches appear to always trump strong perimeter players in January.
The next aspect is the salary. Jefferson signed a then-massive four-year deal in 2024, paying him $35 million per year. With the rising salary cap, that mark has been passed several times, including recently by Drake London. There’s a decent chance Jefferson will seek a raise sooner rather than later, and his cap hits in 2027 and 2028 are already scheduled to be roughly $50 million per year.
The final piece is the added draft capital. This version of the operation hasn’t even sniffed a Super Bowl and the top players aren’t getting any younger. Reloading with five extra picks in 2027 and 2028 could help the Vikings reinforce the roster to an extent that could turn them into contenders.
At first glance, five draft picks for a wide receiver sounds tempting. In reality, the Vikings would be trading away one of the few players in the NFL who is virtually impossible to replace. Draft picks are lottery tickets. Justin Jefferson is a proven superstar in his prime.
The Vikings can debate roster-building philosophies all they want, but teams spend years searching for players like Jefferson and usually come up empty-handed. Unless the organization decides a full rebuild is necessary, this is the type of phone call that should end with a polite “thanks, but no thanks.”
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article. Janik Eckardt is a German sports nerd, who likes numbers and stats. He chose the Vikings to be his … More about Janik Eckardt
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