December 29, 2012; Bronx, NY, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Tavon Austin (1) is tackled by Syracuse Orange cornerback Wayne Morgan (2) during the third quarter of the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Recently, there has been speculation that the Vikings want to move up in the draft to get a Wide Receiver in the first round of the draft. If the Vikings value a guy like Tavon Austin or Cordarrelle Patterson that highly, they will definitely consider pulling the trigger on that trade. But here are a few reasons why the Vikings should trade DOWN instead of UP in the first round:
1: Trading up for them would take away mid round draft picks where there is a lot of depth in this year’s draft. The cost of moving up in the first round of the draft is quite high. There are many players to be had in rounds two through 5 that could start or provide desperately needed depth at other positions, especially Cornerback.
2: The Vikings are also strapped for cash according to the salary cap. As of this writing, the Vikings should have just about enough to sign their draft picks with almost nothing left over. Trading later round picks or 2014 draft picks to move up would cause the Vikings to have to spend more to sign those players and make them dangerously close to going over the cap.
3: The demand will be there. There are plenty of teams that should be willing to trade up from the later first round or early second round. Some of the teams looking for Quarterbacks , top tier Tight Ends, or other positions of need would be willing to give up a mid round pick to get their player and allow the Vikings team to fill in more holes.
4: The Vikings already have Wide Receivers that are serviceable at those positions. Although Jarius Wright and Jerome Simpson aren’t superstars, that doesn’t mean they won’t be able to develop or work in the Vikings system. A lot of pressure will be taken off both those players now that Greg Jennings should be able to draw a lot of defensive attention. Also, Jarius Wright showed a lot of promise toward the end of last season as a slot receiver.
Nov 10, 2012; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson (84) scores a touchdown against the Missouri Tigers during the first half at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
5: There are players with similar skill sets later on in the draft. Instead of trading up for a guy like Tavon Austin to compete with Jarius Wright, why not wait until later rounds and get a guy like Ace Sanders? Or instead of trading up for Cordarrelle Patterson, why not wait and get a guy like Da’Rick Rogers?
If Patterson or Austin fall to the Vikings at #23 or #25, they would have to consider it…but to trade up for one of them could be a huge mistake.