NFL teams don’t trade star players very often. But what if they did? And if they did, how many first-round picks would those players net?
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell looked through each roster and tried to find the trade value for each team’s young, star players. He formulated that the Vikings have three players worthy of first-round picks.
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It comes as little surprise that Barnwell projects Justin Jefferson as the player who would garner two or more first-round picks in a trade. The only factor limiting additional picks is Jefferson’s cap number.
As Jefferson just turned 26 in June, the Vikings would surely have plenty of suitors if they did put him on the open market, although that won’t be happening after he signed a four-year, $140 million extension last summer. The contract limits Jefferson’s surplus value, which is why he wouldn’t be worth more, but guys who are as valuable and impactful as him in the prime of their careers almost never become available.
Barnwell believes that J.J. McCarthy and Jonathan Greenard would each generate one first-round pick as they are young and play premium positions.
McCarthy missed the entire 2024 season with a torn meniscus. Taken in the top half of the first round, he’s undoubtedly less valuable than he was a year ago after the injury wasted a year of his rookie deal, but I still think the Vikings would have been able to land a first-round pick if they had decided to re-sign Sam Darnold and trade McCarthy somewhere else this offseason.
Four players were mentioned as players who just missed the cut for generating first-round returns. Jordan Addison (legal issues), Christian Darrisaw (injuries), Brian O’Neill (age), and Dallas Turner (inexperience) could potentially make this list if they didn’t have these factors working against them.
O’Neill is the only one who can’t do much about his situation. Addison, Darrisaw, and Turner’s availability and productivity will be counted on for the Vikings to make a deep playoff run in 2025.
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Would the Vikings be willing to move on from any of the above players in 2025? It’s doubtful, as these players all play at key positions for a team that finished 14-3 in 2024. So, like most NFL trades, this exercise sounds better in theory than in reality.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Analyst places trade values on J.J. McCarthy and Justin Jefferson