Why the Vikings trading Justin Jefferson would be Moss mistake 2.0
The Vikings have the fewest top 100 draft picks in a suddenly very competitive NFC North and a lot of holes to fill to catch up to the Lions and Packers. Should the Vikings trade the consensus best receiver in the league for a haul of picks in order to jump-start the rebuild?
Unequivocally, and we can't stress this enough: no.
In this state's history when has trading away a team's superstar ever worked? Quick answer: never.
Not when the Wolves traded Kevin Garnett. Not when the Twins trade Johan Santana. Not when the Vikings traded Randy Moss.
Minnesota sports fans have been through this particular carousel enough times to know it's not worth it. Getting rid of a dynamic receiver that makes any quarterback's life remarkably easier makes no sense.
How much easier was Patrick Mahomes' first year starting because he had Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce? How much easier did C.J. Stroud have it this season because he had Nico Collins and Tank Dell? Providing your new QB with weapons to throw to will make their life easier.
Look at the Carolina Panthers this year, drafting Bryce Young at No. 1 but only giving him a declining Adam Thielen and injury-riddled DJ Chark as his top WRs.
For exercise purposes only, let's actually ponder the idea. What would it take to pry Jefferson away from Minnesota? Certainly more than Bleacher Report's preposterous trade idea.
In an article looking at trades that could shape the offseason, Bleacher Report proposed trading Jefferson to the Cardinals for Arizona's fourth overall pick and third-round pick in this year's draft, as well as their 2025 first-round pick. Three picks for a 24-year-old receiver who has broken a number of records for best career starts.
When the Packers traded then 29-year-old receiver Davante Adams to the Raiders in March of 2022, Green Bay only received Las Vegas' first-round (22) and second-round (53) picks in that year's draft. That's for a wide receiver five years older than Jefferson who was heading into the final year of his deal and had already been franchise tagged once. The Packers weren't going to be able to hold on to Adams beyond that season.
Jefferson is entering the fifth-year of his rookie deal and the Vikings still have two years of franchise tags they could use on him. That is still three more years of control the Vikings have over Jefferson, meaning they would ask for a much bigger haul than Green Bay got for Adams.
In a video clip posted by the NFL on CBS' TikTok account, former NFL lineman Kyle Long argued for trading Jefferson saying: "You need to trade Justin Jefferson because you got the best receiver in football and you didn't win a Super Bowl.
"Kirk Cousins had an awesome year but you've got other weapons there. You've got a great tight end there, you've got a coordinator, a great offensive minded head coach. Go get rid of Justin Jefferson and get a ton of other great players."
After receiving criticism from Vikings fans for the take, Long took to Twitter to stand by his assertion that the Vikings should look at trading Jefferson.
"I do think the Vikings are in trouble if they don’t make major moves to acquire a long term option at quarterback being as Detroit and Green Bay are widening the gap in division. I think Jordan Addison is good enough to build around and when healthy TJ Hockenson is a game wrecker. I stand by my take which I’ve stood by since like week 3 tbh. If the goal is win a Super Bowl then u need to make moves to get a guy who can get u there and then win it for you. Kirk even when red hot and record breaking [numbers] I don’t think has the juice to beat the elites. Add to the fact that he’s now gotta rehab and come back prove it again- that’s a lot. Sell pieces to get into the sweepstakes for the top pick. If that’s Justin Jefferson heading out so be it. You won’t win a SB with this archetype of a roster."
Selling Jefferson so you can "get into the sweepstakes for the top pick" would only hurt that QB because you're taking away the best weapon in the league.
Yes, the Vikings do have plenty of other talented options on their offense in Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson, but Jefferson is in a league of his own, and even coming close to replacing him would take at the very least one of the first-round picks you'd get for him
The Vikings have a lot of holes to fill if they are going to catch up in the NFC North but getting rid of their best player, and arguably the best non-QB in the NFL, would be taking multiple steps backwards on a chance they can draft their way to success.
