Raiders Vikings On Battle Trade-Up-Target For Jayden Daniels
Competition for a top-three selection will intensify if one of the Bears’, Commanders’ or Patriots’ selections becomes available. Of those, New England’s appears to be the likeliest to be moved (although it very much remains to be seen if the team is willing to move out of the opportunity to add a potential franchise quarterback at that spot).
Nevertheless, the fourth (Cardinals) and fifth (Chargers) picks are known to be on the market. As a result, QB-needy teams will have options to maneuver closer to the top of the board. Both the Vikings and Raiders have been named as trade-up candidates, and ESPN’s Dan Graziano reports Minnesota and Las Vegas could find themselves in competition with each other to pursue a passer.
Specifically, Graziano adds Jayden Daniels is a likely target for the Vikings and Raiders. The reigning Heisman winner has a visit scheduled with both teams, the latter of which has a well-documented connection with him. Vegas head coach Antonio Pierce worked with Daniels during their time together at Arizona State, and links have subsequently been made to a trade-up effort on the Raiders’ part with the LSU alum as the target. Aidan O’Connell is still positioned to compete for the staring spot in 2024, but Pierce has essentially confirmed a signal-caller will be drafted next month.
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The Vikings, meanwhile, have the draft capital to aggressively move up the board. Currently set to select 11th overall, Minnesota also has No. 23 after pulling off a pick swap with the Texans. The fourth overall pick is a reported potential landing spot, and it would come as little surprise if the Vikings jumped further ahead of teams like the Raiders (who own pick No. 13) but also the Giants (No. 6) to land their preferred developmental passer.
Notably, the most recent reporting on the matter indicated J.J. McCarthy could be the target of a trade-up on Minnesota’s part. In any case, the addition of a Day 1 option to develop behind Sam Darnold – who signed a one-year deal to serve as a short-term Kirk Cousins replacement – would represented the expected outcome in this situation.
McCarthy has seen his stock rise in draft circles recently, but Daniels has long been considered part of the top tier of QB prospects (alongside presumed No. 1 pick Caleb Williams and UNC’s Drake Maye, whose landing spot will be a crucial determining factor in Daniels’ fate). With each passer’s Pro Day now in the books, attention will shift to personal visits and private workouts as the draft draws nearer and teams such as the Vikings and Raiders continue their evaluations.
The Lions have two upper-crust contracts allocated to offensive linemen, having extended Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow. They also have Penei Sewell on track to eventually score a monster right tackle deal. Exiting the season, these contractual components — along with plans for Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown — had made it more likely than not Jonah Jackson would need to find his second contract elsewhere.
That ended up happening, with the four-year guard starter landing a three-year, $51MM deal from the Rams. Jackson’s Rams deal came on a day in which two teams — the Rams and Panthers — each finalized plans to add two high-priced guards. Jackson joins Kevin Dotson as well-paid Rams guards; the latter signed a three-year, $48MM contract. While the Rams’ guard plan also involved re-signing a starter to keep him out of free agency, the Lions crafted a similar approach.
Although not much came out about a Lions effort to re-sign Jackson, the Detroit News’ Justin Rogers notes the team had hopes of reaching a deal that would keep him off the market. A belief in the building existed that Jackson would be retained even in the days before free agency, but Rogers adds the Lions then learned Jackson’s price tag would come in higher than they anticipated.
Other teams undoubtedly encountered similar issues, with the salary cap rising by more than $30MM from its 2023 place. This year’s guard class featured a number of candidates to score big contracts, and the cap spike effectively ensured that group would fare well. Dotson re-signing with the Rams before the market opened also helped players like Jackson, who received the second-highest guard payment among this year’s UFAs — behind only the Panthers’ five-year, $100MM Robert Hunt deal.
