The Minnesota Vikings have turned into one of the worst teams in the NFL this year only one season after being among the best. The fall off has been brutal to watch, and it's really centered around the QB position.
Minnesota famously traded above the Denver Broncos to take JJ McCarty in the 2024 NFL Draft, but McCarthy has missed more games than he's played in, has fallen behind, and frankly looks like an all-time bad quarterback.
It's to the point now where the other roster deficiencies are being exposed, and on one in that organization feels safe going forward. Could this boil over into the team trading Justin Jefferson? It's possible, and before you say it's not, we did just see the Dallas Cowboys trade a defensive player in Micah Parsons, who is the same caliber player as Jefferson is. Let's cook up some trade packages for Jefferson.
The Denver Broncos should make a strong push for Justin Jefferson next offseason
Justin Jefferson was drafted back in 2020, and Broncos' GM George Paton was still in the Vikings' front office when Jefferson was drafted. He's averaging just 66.6 yards per game, 12.9 yards per reception, and catching just 59% of his targets, which are all career-worst numbers.
The bad QB play has made the best offensive player in the NFL a shell of his former self, so it's been bad to say the least. The Broncos should consider offering one of the following packages:
The first trade package is two clean first-round picks for Justin Jefferson, and this might be where the conversation starts with a player of his caliber. Jefferson would only be entering his age-27 season in the 2026 NFL Season, so he'd likely have several more years of high-end production left.
The second trade package only sees Denver parting with one first-round pick, but they give up a second-round pick in 2026 and also throw in Troy Franklin, who has broken out a bit this year and is still a very young player on his rookie deal. The Vikings would likely want at least one WR back in the deal if they are stripping this room of their top pass-catcher, so the package might be more than just draft picks.
The final trade package has the heaviest involvement, as the Broncos give up a first and second-round pick but also throw in CB Riley Moss and WR Marvin Mims Jr. Trading Mims in a deal for Jefferson would be self-explanatory, but giving up Moss could also be on the table, as the Vikings could use another CB, and Moss is a young, good player at this position.
In my opinion, the Vikings would want to put an emphasis on building for the future in any deal they'd potentially make involving Justin Jefferson, so I do not think any aging players would be included in the package. It would likely have to include multiple high draft picks and notable starters.