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Smoke points to Minnesota Vikings plotting trade into top five of NFL Draft

We’re now just days away from the 2023 NFL Draft, counting down the hours before the unpredictable player selection process gets underway. For a team like the Minnesota Vikings, who don’t have a pick until No. 23, that level of unpredictability is at an all-time high.

After reaching the playoffs, but quickly getting bounced in the Wild Card following a 13-win season, the Vikings have plenty of short-term and long-term needs. As NFL GMs will tell you, they don’t base all their decisions around who can help the team in Week 1 or Week 17 of the upcoming season. Instead, the draft is about focusing on two-to-three years from now, trying to determine which players can help form a contender.

For the Vikings, although it may not be an immediate need, planning for a future without Kirk Cousins, who is in the final year of his contract, might be at the forefront on draft day. Yet, being that they’re at a disadvantage, not only by picking so late in the first round but also by having a total of five draft selections, Minnesota’s chances of emerging with a future QB1 appear slim.

Unless we see a trade.

Related: 2023 NFL mock draft: C.J. Stroud slides, Bijan Robinson to NFC East, Raiders land QB

Which according to The Draft Network’s Jaime Eisner, “loud rumblings” have indicated the Vikings are trying to trade up for a QB. Other rumblings suggest that trade could be as high as with Houston at No. 2 or Arizona at No. 3.

Obviously, either move would require the Vikings to trade a massive amount of draft capital, likely the 23rd pick, plus their first-round selection next year, and more.

Interestingly, Kentucky’s Will Levis has suddenly become the betting favorite to be the No. 2 overall pick. Past rumors have suggested the Vikings are smitten with the rocket-armed QB, but that doesn’t mean they’re the reason for Levis’s apparent sudden climb.

Either way, if the Vikings did make a shocking blockbuster move up the draft board, expect one of the QBs to be a top target. If the No. 2 pick somehow makes its way to Minnesota, suddenly, the Vikings could be looking at a future with either Florida’s Anthony Richardson, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, or Levis under center starting in 2024.

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