Vikings Draft 2012: Trade Down With the Jets?

Crazy season has been upon us for awhile, but now we’re officially in batpoop crazy season. Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork made a big contribution to the craziness today by tweeting about the Jets’ apparent interest in trading up high enough to draft Alabama running back Trent Richardson. “At NFL event today, Trent Richardson said #Jets called him Sunday to verify correct contact info just in case they trade up for him. Hmm.”

Hmm indeed. Especially if you’re a Viking watcher who favors the idea of a trade down from 3. But most plausible trade scenarios thus far have floated the idea of the Vikes moving down maybe a pick or two, at most down to #8. The Jets don’t pick in the first round until 16. How many picks could you dislodge from the Jets in a trade for the #3? It would have to be a lot. And given the Vikings’ need for a major upgrade at any of at least three positions? The 16th pick seems a little low for your first selection.

Unless of course you got a totally absurd bounty of picks in the trade. Then, hell yeah. But would the Jets really do it? For Trent Richardson? Last month I floated the idea of the Buccaneers trading up two spots for Richardson, and was informed that such an idea is absurd given the lowered value of the running back position in today’s pass-heavy NFL. If a team wouldn’t even go up two spots for a running back, then certainly no team would leap from 16 all the way to 3.

Then again, I doubt many people would’ve believed last year’s Julio Jones trade could happen before it did. The point being, crazy things happen sometimes, especially when draft day looms up and teams start getting desperate. If the Jets think they’re close to winning and believe all they need is a stud running back to put them where they want to be? They might do it. The Falcons last year thought Jones was the last piece in their puzzle, hence their willingness to pull off what looked at the time like a crazy deal.

Realistically we must put this Jets trade scenario down as something completely far-fetched and silly and impossible. And then wait to see if our assumptions are proved wrong as they have been so many times before.

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