Vikings Land First-Round Draft Pick in Trade With Texans

The Minnesota Vikings and Houston Texans made a trade on Friday morning, with the Vikings acquiring a second pick in the first round of this year’s draft, Minnesota announced.

The Texans traded their first-round pick this year, the No. 23 selection, and a seventh-round pick to Minnesota in exchange for a second-round pick this year, a fifth-round pick this year and a second-round pick next year.

The Vikings already own the No. 11 pick in the NFL draft, and now become the third team to have two picks in the first round this year. 

Houston, meanwhile, drops out of the first round by trading a pick they acquired from the Cleveland Browns in the Deshaun Watson deal, and now don’t own a first-round selection. The Texans also traded their own first-rounder this year in a draft trade with the Arizona Cardinals last year.

The deal is a rare March trade that only included draft picks, but Minnesota may have ulterior motives for the transaction. The Vikings are one of many teams that could look to draft a quarterback this year, and having two picks in the top 25 may make it easier to trade up from outside the top 10.