Once upon a time, the trajectory of two NFL franchises was altered in a big trade.
Thinking they were one piece away from being a Super Bowl contender in October of 1989, the Minnesota Vikings traded a bunch of players and draft picks to the Dallas Cowboys for running back Herschel Walker.
With those assets, the Cowboys set the foundation of a roster that would go on to win three Super Bowls in a four-year span. Meanwhile, the Vikings got two-plus seasons of a clearly depleted Walker, while also not having a first-round pick from 1990 to 1992. In each of the first two years of that three-year stretch, they didn't have a second-round pick either.
Heading into the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, one player was mocked over and over to the Minnesota Vikings at No. 18 overall. That player, Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman, was available, but Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks was the selection instead.
Dallas Cowboys crushed the dreams of Minnesota Vikings fans once again
As Thieneman was the popular pick for the Vikings at 18th overall, with some buzz he wouldn't even be available for them to take there, a different dream scenario was in play for Vikings' fans (if not the Vikings themselves, should it have been possible).
The odds that Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, who was widely considered a potential top-10 pick in this draft, would fall all the way into the Vikings' laps at No. 18 were slim.
But in Lloyd Christmas fashion, there was a chance if a run at other positions pushed him down the board and fellow safety Thieneman rose to come off the board somewhere in that midst.
Alas, sitting with the 12th overall pick, the Cowboys traded up one spot with the Miami Dolphins to take Downs.
It's not that they shouldn't have made a move up for one of the best secondary players in this draft class, but any dreams about the Vikings being able to get Downs as their successor to Harrison Smith were shattered in an instant.
So nearly 37 years later, the Cowboys have shattered the dreams of Vikings' fans once again. The scar is not going to run as deep this time around, since there's no usurping the Walker trade as an all-time blunder in Vikings' history, and being unable to draft Downs was out of their control.
That said, no team between picks 12-17 was all that likely to draft a safety.
If Downs has a long career as a perennial Pro Bowl safety, and the Vikings struggle to find a capable replacement/successor for Smith, the ire toward the Cowboys has a real chance to take root among fans.
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