Due to a number of factors during Kevin O'Connell's tenure as head coach, the Minnesota Vikings' ground game has lacked juice. An effort to change that was made last offseason, with a bolstering of the interior offensive line and a trade to add Jordan Mason alongside Aaron Jones, but it didn't work out as hoped.
With Jones surprisingly back in the fold, after it looked like he was as good as gone early this offseason, the Vikings are set to run it back with him and Mason as their top two running backs next season.
An addition in the draft feels inevitable, though, likely on Day 2 or Day 3, and that addition could change the backfield equation in an instant.
But what if there were a different opportunity to add a game-changer to the backfield, with a coaching staff tie to bolster the fit?
Minnesota Vikings wouldn't be able to turn away from mock trade for Miami Dolphins RB De'Von Achane
Fox Sports' Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports recently named one player each NFC team should trade for during the 2026 NFL Draft, and he went fairly bold for the Vikings.
"Acquire: RB De’Von Achane from the Miami Dolphins
Cost: 2026 third-round pick (82nd), fifth-round pick (163rd)
The Vikings brought back Aaron Jones, but he's 31 and constantly battling injuries. And while he’s a good receiver out of the backfield, Achane is a great one, a much faster and more dynamic player overall and seven years younger (24).
The Dolphins say they want to keep him after he ran for 1,350 yards and caught 67 passes for 488 yards last season. But they have the look of a team undergoing a fire sale, so surely they have their price.
Achane will need a contract extension, so maybe a third-round pick and change will do it. The Dolphins would be crazy to say no for a second-rounder."
Achane is entering the final year of his rookie contract, which explains his recent decision not to show up for the start of the Dolphins' voluntary offseason work.
Signing him to a contract extension is a professed priority for new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, over trading him to go all the way in on rebuild mode.
But as good as Achane has been, and as young as he is (24), the Dolphins aren't really in a position where paying a running back big money looks ideal.
To be fair, the Vikings aren't necessarily in a position where they should pony up to pay a running back either. But if getting Achane only takes giving up a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick, however hypothetically, that's impossible to turn away from if it means adding a game-changing talent like him.
Add in a tie to assistant head coach Frank Smith, who was the Dolphins' offensive coordinator the last four seasons, and Achane would look pretty darn good in purple.