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One of the most exciting aspects of the NFL Draft each year are the trades that unfold during the first round as teams jockey for position in order to either draft “their guy” or accrue further assets by trading down.
And while a trade in the Top 10 picks did occur last week, it wasn’t all that exciting as it simply saw the New York Jets and the Minnesota Vikings swap the 10th and 11th pick.
With the Jets on the clock with the #10 overall pick, they got a call from the Minnesota Vikings, who owned the 11th overall pick. Despite the fact that the Jets clearly weren’t going to be selecting quarterback J.J. McCarthy, given the presence of Aaron Rodgers, the Vikings offered to swap places with them anyway, and so the teams did exactly that.
For the Jets, the deal was a no-brainer, as they were not only able to still select their target in offensive tackle Olu Fashanu, but they were able to turn the 2o3rd pick into picks 129 and 157.
The deal was such a gimme, in fact, that cameras caught Robert Saleh grinning ear-to-ear as he declared that the Vikings had just given them “free money.”
Inside the #Jets draft room: GM Joe Douglas trading back one spot with the #Vikings so they can take JJ McCarthy, while the #Jets still get their guy (Olu Fashanu) and extra draft capital.
Robert Saleh: "Free money!"
(via @nyjets YT 'Flight 24')pic.twitter.com/ATfDfs2slG
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 1, 2024
The only explanation for the Vikings trading up a single spot to select McCarthy is that they were worried another quarterback-needy team would trade with the Jets and beat them to the punch.
Two picks later, the final first-round quarterback came off the board as Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos selected Bo Nix at #12 overall.