Before the draft, we boiled the Vikings’ options with receiver Justin Jefferson down to two simple, binary choices: (1) pay him what he wants; or (2) trade him to someone who will.
As it turns out, the Vikings weren’t trying to get a deal done before the draft. Per a source with knowledge of the dynamics, the effort to make it happen happened after the draft came and went.
Let’s apply common sense to that reality. Does it make it more likely or less likely that the Vikings waited to see what would happen during the draft?
They could have traded him. Multiple teams were ready to give up multiple first-round draft picks. And too many people have heard that the Vikings were trying to move up to No. 5 to get LSU receiver Malik Nabers to dismiss the possibility that the Vikings pondered acquiring Nabers (whose contract would have cost roughly $30 million over four years) and then trading Jefferson in a way that created sufficient assets to get a quarterback, too.
Regardless, after the draft, the Vikings got serious. They ultimately got a four-year extension (not three) at only $1 million per year above the previous high-water mark in new money for non-quarterbacks.
We’ll have the full details eventually. Until then, it’s safe to say that the Vikings will regret they didn’t do the deal last year — and that they’ll be happy that they did the deal when they did.