A touch lost in the shuffle, perhaps, was the admission from Kevin O’Connell that the Vikings were open for business at No. 18 in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Minnesota’s skipper did an interview with KFAN’s Paul Allen after the opening round. During that conversation, Coach O’Connell described a plan to explore moving down the board. When it came time to do so, per O’Connell, “the phones did get quiet.”
The Vikings Chased a Trade But Didn’t Find a Dance Partner
By definition, a trade is a classic situation of needing two to tango.
Every single team in the NFL would be keen to put together a package to acquire Justin Jefferson. Only a single issue emerges: the Vikings’ unwillingness to do business within that sort of deal. The NFL’s 31 potential trade partners would be calling, but the 32nd team — the Minnesota Vikings — would say no, meaning no trade materializes.
Likewise, Minnesota couldn’t find anyone when it came time to move back. The clock was ticking, meaning there was a finite amount of time to orchestrate a swap. Seeing the phones go quiet meant that the only recourse was to push the pick toward Caleb Banks.
“The phones did get quiet,” Kevin O’Connell clarified, “and we had a mindset and a plan for making a really good selection that we felt great about at 18. And that’s what we did.”
Part of what influenced the trade action — or, rather, lack thereof — was the early run on offensive tackle talent. So, too, did the various skill guys getting stolen away create an unwillingness for teams to move up. So goes the theory articulated by O’Connell, at least.
O’Connell’s take on things: “When the tackle run started was going to be something that, quite honestly, we were monitoring. Because there was a lot of teams behind us picking that we felt pretty strongly about were coming up for a tackle. If we could potentially move back and maybe still get the player or one of the three or four players that we had targeted at 18, we were ready to do that.”
A similar rationale got mentioned for some of those skill guys. QB Ty Simpson went to the Rams at No. 13 and TE Kenyon Sadiq got snagged at No. 16 by the Jets, further depleting the teams willing to forfeit picks to climb the board.
The Vikings therefore had to pivot. Not having any takers for a trade means sticking-and-picking, a strategy that has merit so long as someone excellent gets scooped up.
Finally, consider what wasn’t said.
In no way did the Vikings not want to pick Banks. Rather, the Vikings wanted to pick Banks, but would have been happier to do so after going from (for instance) No. 18 to No. 21. Dropping a few spots would mean earning more draft capital while still snagging the coveted player. Essentially, it’s a way to have one’s cake and eat it, too.
Failing to arrive at that spot meant settling for a good outcome (snagging the ultra talented but risky Banks) instead of the great outcome (snagging Banks after getting more draft picks).
As of today, the Vikings are working from within OTAs. The plan is for the powerful DT to be healthy enough to get into action in time for training camp, which arrives at the end of July.
