In order to land both J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner in the first round of this year's NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings made the decision to part with multiple future assets in a pair of trades.
To secure McCarthy, the Vikings traded picks No. 11, 129, and 157 to the New York Jets in exchange for the 10th and 203rd overall selections. Then, to land Turner, Minnesota acquired pick No. 17 in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars by parting with the 23rd and 167th overall selections in addition to a third and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft.
Most didn't have a problem with what the Vikings gave up to select McCarthy. But when it comes to the trade Minnesota completed to ultimately end up with Turner, some believe they gave up too much.
Dallas Turner trade plays part in Minnesota Vikings receiving poor offseason grade
ESPN's Seth Walder shared his 2024 offseason grades for all 32 NFL teams on Tuesday, and for the Vikings, he wasn't exactly ecstatic with what the team has done during the last few months.
A C- is the grade Walder gave Minnesota for its 2024 offseason and he shared that a big reason for the team's low grade was due to the draft day trade they made to acquire Turner.
"That the Vikings were not able to trade up into the top three isn't on them -- it takes two to tango -- and they deserve credit for holding out and not trading up for McCarthy until they were one pick away, flipping spots with the Jets and picking him at 10.
But later in the first round, the team traded a ton of value to move up from 23 to 17 for Turner. It was a very pricey trade in its own right, but if we consider the entire move from 42 to 17 and combine the two trades, it was an overwhelming price to pay."
An overwhelming price to pay? Oh no, how will the Vikings be able to build their team next year without selections in the third and fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft? Now, they might not be able to pick the newest versions of Wyatt Davis or Dru Samia. How will they even be able to sleep at night?
With Minnesota currently only having a total of three picks in next year's draft, building its roster through the draft doesn't really seem to be the team's priority in 2025. And that's okay since the Vikings are currently projected to begin next year's offseason with more than $54.5 million in cap space.
Turner is also the current favorite at +350 to win the 2024 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award, according to the latest odds from the DraftKings Sportsbook.
If that happens, and he turns out to be the best defensive rookie in the league next season, do we think anyone is really going to care how much Minnesota gave up for him in last year's draft? No, of course they won't.
But since Turner hasn't played a down in a regular-season game for the Vikings yet, people can still make claims that the team paid an overwhelming price for the former Alabama pass rusher. Well, if he turns into an overwhelming problem for opposing offenses in 2024, some might actually start asking how Minnesota managed to acquire Turner for such a bargain.