Schefter: If Cousins leaves, Vikings could move up in NFL Draft

"If he goes to Atlanta I wouldn't be surprised if Minnesota tried to move up in the draft."

Author:
Jonathan Harrison
Publish date:
Mar 4, 2024 3:33 PM EST

The Vikings, at least outwardly, continue to show interest in bringing Kirk Cousins back in 2024 and beyond, but if that's untenable then ESPN's Adam Schefter says to watch out for a potential move by the Vikings in the NFL Draft.

"There's going to be a team that doesn't get Kirk Cousins – and it certainly sounds like right now Kirk Cousins, has his primary two options, Atlanta and Minnesota," Schefter said Monday on The Pat McAfee Show. "Maybe Washington jumps in, maybe there's another team. But I think the two primary suitors for Kirk Cousins, I would expect to be Minnesota and Atlanta."

That much has been heavily speculated over the last couple months. Minnesota and Atlanta both have very desirable offensive weapons that with the proper QB could instantly make a team a contender. The Falcons have a bit more cap space than the Vikings and less mega extensions to hand out at the moment (see: Justin Jefferson, Christian Darrisaw).

Where things get interesting for both squads is what they do next if they don't come out victorious in the Cousins sweepstakes.

"There's only one Kirk Cousins so he goes somewhere, what does the other team then do," continued Schefter. "If he goes to Atlanta I wouldn't be surprised if Minnesota tried to move up in the draft and tried to make a play up for a quarterback."

At No. 11 Minnesota may be too low to land one of the top quarterbacks in the draft. The Vikings still hold all of their future first-round picks and could offer a hefty trade package for either Washington or New England in case either is looking to move out of the top three.

Minnesota reportedly met with all of the top QBs at the NFL Combine and left with solid impressions about the draft class. Whether one stands out to the point that the Vikings trade up to get them remains to be seen, but the odds of that happening will go up or down based on what happens with Cousins within the next week or so.