Myles Jack: Should Vikings aggressively move up to get him?

Myles Jack slid a long way in the draft, but the Vikings would still have to pull off a miracle move in order to get him.

Folks thought Myles Jack might take a tumble down the draft after his statements about his knee one day possibly needing microfracture surgery, but I don’t think anyone saw him dropping entirely out of the first.

Drop out of the first round Myles Jack did and Friday night the second round will begin with the talented UCLA linebacker still on the board.

There are a lot of teams out there who covet Jack who never thought they would be in a position to grab him in the second round. One of those teams might now elect to aggressively trade up to the top of the round to nab Jack before someone else does.

The Minnesota Vikings are in a particularly interesting situation as regards Jack. The Vikes already have his former UCLA teammates Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks on the team, and there are some who would love to see Minnesota complete the trifecta.

As neat as a Barr-Kendricks-Jack reunion might be in a superficial sense, as a practical matter, would it make sense for Minnesota to try to trade up to the top of the second and get Jack?

You could argue that Jack is such a great talent it would be worth the huge gamble of trading multiple picks to get into the #32 overall spot. But then you consider the knee issue again and it suddenly doesn’t look like such a great idea.

It might be impossible at any rate for the Vikings to move all the way from 54 up to 32. Cleveland currently holds the #32 pick and they would no doubt want a king’s ransom to move down. Ditto the teams picking immediately behind them. You have to believe Jack will come off the board in the first few picks, knee problem or no.

Rick Spielman has been aggressive in making such trades before of course. In 2013, Spielman gave up multiple picks to move back into the first round and draft WR Cordarrelle Patterson. The Patterson move was a gamble but for a different reason than trading up to get Jack would be a gamble. Unlike Patterson, Jack is ready to be a contributor from day one and few doubt that he will be a productive player, but his long-term health is obviously a major question mark.

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As a realistic possibility, it seems unlikely that the Vikes will get a shot at Jack. It’s doubtful they would be willing or able to give up what they would have to give up in order to get back into the top of the second. And if they stand pat and wait, they will only watch someone else take him.

That Barr-Kendricks-Jack reunion probably still won’t happen.