Cardinals 2024 NFL Draft "What If" Series: Arizona trades with Minnesota for #4 pick
By Brandon Ray
There might be two bad secrets that most, if not all NFL fans know heading into the NFL draft. First, the top three picks with the Bears, Commanders, and Patriots will go on a quarterback run. Then recently, the Minnesota Vikings traded back up into the first round to pick #23 from the Houston Texans. Now they have picks #11 and #23, which could be easily packaged up to make another trade up to get their next franchise quarterback.
Minnesota lost Kirk Cousins to the Atlanta Falcons, and have signed veteran Sam Darnold to a one-year deal. Outside of quarterback, the Vikings have a ton of great options on offense. The obvious numer one weapon is Justin Jefferson, who is going to be getting the bag soon with a new deal in the next year or two. Jordan Addison showed a lot of promise in his rookie season, and then tight end T.J. Hockenson is a top five tight end in the league.
All that the Vikings need now is a quarterback for Kevin O'Connell to develop with these weapons. That is where the Arizona Cardinals could come into play, should the Vikings come calling Monti Ossenfort.
Could the Cardinals realistically trade the 4th pick to the Vikings?
It is absolutely realistic that the Cardinals could trade out of the 4th pick to the Vikings. Whether wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is available on the board or not, Ossenfort could easily take phone calls for any interested teams. The question is, should they listen to the Vikings?
It really does come down to what the Vikings may offer. Getting a potential generational talent like Harrison would be extremely hard to pass on. However, if the Cardinals not only get a great amount of draft capital but also a player as well, no one should blame Ossenfort for thinking long and hard about it.
The Cardinals have many needs all over the roster. It really does depend on how much Ossenfort either believes in building through the draft, or getting one of the best prospects (if not the best) in this draft.