Report: Former Vikings draft target could be traded before Week 1

Could the Minnesota Vikings be interested in acquiring current Washington Redskins wide receiver Josh Doctson in a trade before the regular season?

Back in 2016, the Minnesota Vikings used their first-round draft pick on former Ole Miss wide receiver Laquon Treadwell. The pick came one selection after the Washington Redskins drafted former TCU receiver Josh Doctson, someone who the Vikings were reportedly very interested in that year.

Fast forward to now and neither Treadwell or Doctson have been able to live up to the expectations that come with being a first-round draft pick.

Minnesota is reportedly looking to trade Treadwell sooner than later and now Doctson appears to be in a similar situation.

According to The Athletic’s Ben Standing on Monday, the Redskins are hoping to trade their young receiver before the regular season begins in two weeks. Could the Vikings be a team interested in trading for Doctson?

Obviously, it would depend on what Minnesota would have to give up to acquire him. If the Vikings can land Doctson for a sixth or seventh-round draft pick, then that’s a deal they may want to consider.

In three seasons with Washington, the 26-year-old receiver has hauled in a total of 81 passes for 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns. His best season was actually when Kirk Cousins was his quarterback in 2017 when he finished with 35 catches for 502 yards and six scores.

Doctson has decent speed (4.5 40-yard dash time), size (6-foot-2, 205 pounds), and leaping ability (41-inch vertical). He just hasn’t been able to put together an impressive season yet during his three years in the NFL.

With the Vikings still looking for receiving options behind Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, could they try to acquire someone they probably would have drafted in 2016 if he was still on the board?

Since Minnesota recently lost a fifth-round pick in order to acquire kicker/punter Kaare Vedvik, they may be a little more hesitant to pursue a trade for Doctson. At the same time, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Vikings gave Washington a call in the near future.