Florio Wonders if Vikings are Waiting for Pick-Swap Tampering Reward from Falcons

We are less than two weeks away from the start of the 2024 NFL Draft, the day we’ll finally learn who the Minnesota Vikings are targeting to be their future franchise quarterback. Patience, you ask? Nah, fans want to know now, what their favorite football team is trying to do, come April 25.

Many think the Vikings already know their plans for draft night. Some have even hypothesized an under-the-table deal that could already be in place. That their March trade with Houston must mean they have something else up their sleeve. If true, why hasn’t general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah already traded up to secure their pick and QB of the future?

It’s not that easy, of course, and it takes two to tango. Just because the Vikings want to move up, doesn’t mean there’s a willing trade partner eager to move down, at least not unless they receive a “Godfather offer”, including three first-round picks.

Minnesota Vikings waiting on Falcons tampering punishment?

But what if there’s another, more shocking, factor in play? What if the Vikings are secretly waiting for a certain league investigation to play itself out? Remember back when the Atlanta Falcons’ signing of Kirk Cousins, was flagged for tampering, first by ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio, and eventually by the league?

Well, that same whistleblower has weighed in on the Falcons/Vikings tampering situation, yet again. Florio is now wondering out lout if the Vikings are still “holding out hope” for a draft day pick-swapping miracle that would force the Falcons to “flip-flop” their No. 8 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft with the Vikings, for their No. 11.

Maybe the Vikings are quietly holding out hope that the end result of the investigation regarding Atlanta’s blatant tampering with Cousins (and it was blatant, frankly) will result in a flip-flop of picks No. 8 and No. 11.

Mike Florio – ProFootballTalk

It’s a wild scenario, but not wild enough to stop Florio from doubling down two days later. On Friday morning, he dove back in again. How long will the NFL wait to announce sanctions against the Falcons? If they follow suit from last year, it’ll be the very last moment before the draft begins.

It’s likely they wouldn’t want to make such a massive announcement right now, when it would dominate the airwaves for the next two weeks. Waiting until draft day, however, would make it way easier to sweep such massive news under the rug, hiding behind the enormous fanfare that comes with each NFL Draft event.

The Falcons have the eighth pick in round one. The Vikings have the eleventh. What if the punishment is as simple as the Falcons and Vikings flip-flopping the two picks? The NFL set the precedent last year, with the sudden and unexpected news of the Cardinals-Eagles settlement. It would make sense for it to happen again, between the Falcons and the Vikings.

The NFL dropped that fairly important Cardinals-Eagles tampering nugget last year just as the draft began, it makes sense to watch for it again this year, especially since the Falcons did indeed tamper with Cousins.

Mike Florio – ProFootballTalk

Related: Vikings Finally Land One of Their Unique Private Workouts with LSU QB Jayden Daniels

While only hypothetical, Florio seems certain that forcing Atlanta and Minnesota to swap picks would be the right thing to do. Not only that, but he appears very intrigued with the possibility that it could actually happen.

If Minnesota is trying to climb as far up the draft board, as possible, boasting the 8th and 23rd picks on April 25 would make climbing up the board a lot easier and cheaper than having the 11th selection.

The end result could, and perhaps should, be that the Vikings will have the eighth and 23rd picks. Which makes their potential effort to trade up into the top five a little easier. Or maybe they’ll just stay put at eight and wait for a quarterback they like to fall to them.

Mike Florio – ProFootballTalk

For now, waiting until draft day seems like the best option for the front office, where they’ll learn which prospect is available after Chicago and Washington make their selections with the first two picks. But, it’s very possible New England takes a QB at No. 3. Not to mention, the Giants are reportedly lurking and thinking quarterback at No. 6.

Can Kwesi & Co afford to wait until the Arizona Cardinals are on the clock at No. 4, before they strike with a blockbuster trade offer? Is it possible they could even wait until the Los Angeles Chargers are slotted in, at No. 5? These are the questions the front office are currently working to answer. April 25 is now 13 days away.