The Minnesota Vikings might be entering a rebuild, and the Denver Broncos should see if they can pry a couple of veterans away from them in a trade.
The Denver Broncos share a few connections with the Minnesota Vikings. The most obvious one is General Manager George Paton spending quite a bit of time as the right-hand man to now-fired General Manager Rick Spielman.
Along with Spielman, the Vikings also fired head coach Mike Zimmer. With the Vikings having quite a few aging veterans, they would be wise to enter a bit of a rebuild.
They aren’t a bad team, but it’s unclear what they need to get over the top, and with a completely new regime coming in, it’s hard to see the team remaining competitive for 2022.
Teams would be wise to call the Vikings to see if they would be willing to part with some of their veterans. They have two studs in Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson, but it seems like the rest of the roster could be in play.
Denver Broncos trade ideas with the Vikings
1. Kirk Cousins, QB
The Broncos need a quarterback and Kirk Cousins is a good one. He threw for 33 touchdowns this year on just 7 interceptions behind a poor Vikings offensive line.
With the Broncos’ current offensive weaponry and league average offensive line, Cousins would thrive in Denver.
He’s currently option three for me if the team fails to land Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson.
Kirk Cousins would give the Denver Broncos much-needed stability and would allow them to sniff around the draft board this year and in future years to try and find a longer-term option with more upside.
Cousins won’t wow you with a crazy throw or make a big play with his legs, but he’s an efficient passer, and not many other quarterbacks in the NFL can say that.
I would ask Broncos fans to have an open mind if the team trades for Cousins.
Sure, he isn’t Mahomes, but his stats over the past four years are very comparable, or even better than some elite quarterbacks in the NFL.
Denver Broncos trade ideas with the Vikings
2. Danielle Hunter, DE
Danielle Hunter has played in just seven games the past two seasons after missing just two games since being drafted in 2015.
If you forgot, Hunter is an elite pass rusher who racked up 54.5 sacks in his first 5 seasons.
Being injured the past two seasons is definitely a concern, but Hunter is still just 27 years old and would give the Broncos a nice pass rush boost, something they need to correct this offseason.
Hunter could be one of several Vikings causalities as they likely enter a bit of a rebuild.
I don’t think he would be cheap in a trade, but getting an elite pass rush is always worth it.
His cap number for 2022 is nearly $26 million, so I would assume the Broncos would want to extend him to reduce that number.
Imagine a defensive end tandem with Dre’Mont Jones and Danielle Hunter. The Broncos are going to need to continually find ways to limit Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes, even with the potential addition of a quality quarterback, and Hunter’s pass rush skill set would greatly help.
Denver Broncos trade ideas with the Vikings
3. Michael Pierce, NT
May I interest you in one large human? Michael Pierce is a premier run stuffer in the NFL and would again help the Broncos along the defensive line.
The Denver Broncos rush defense was its weak point in 2021, ranking at 15th in the NFL.
While that is by no means poor, it clearly showed as a weakness on the field. Pierce does this better than anyone in the NFL and could be another trade target for certain teams.
He is 29 years old, so he isn’t young, but if the Broncos decide to go all-in this offseason, adding veterans like Pierce make a ton of sense for the team.
Current nose tackle Mike Purcell had a down year, and the team could simply look to release him outright since Vic Fangio is no longer in town.
It’s clear Purcell excelled in Fangio’s defense in 2019 and 2020, but his drop-off in 2021 was noticeable.
If the Broncos cut him as a post-June 1 transaction, they would save about $3.5 million against the cap.
Denver Broncos trade ideas with the New Orleans Saints
With the recent Sean Payton news and the Saints having negative $74 million in cap space, the Denver Broncos should call to try and swing some trades.
He could be a cap casualty in general, but even more so if the team trades for his replacement.