Justin Jefferson Vikings Oct 30, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) in action against the Arizona Cardinals at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Were the Minnesota Vikings going to trade star receiver Justin Jefferson? It sounds like the thought was rummaged on Draft Night.

The Vikings made headlines during the 2024 NFL Draft when they selected quarterback J.J. McCarthy from Michigan. But it sounds like the Vikings had an even wilder idea in their arsenal. It just never wound up coming to fruition.

Minnesota aimed to try to nab LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers and, in effect, trade Jefferson away. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported on this rumor this weekend, which Pro Football Talk both wrote about and discussed hearing similar chatter last month.

“Pssst. There was buzz at draft time that the Vikings wanted to move from No. 11 to No. 5, not to pick a quarterback but to get LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers,” columnist Charley Walters wrote in the Pioneer Press, via PFT. “Had that rade occurred, Jefferson would have been traded, and Nabers would have been the No. 1 wide receiver.”

That’s a heck of a situation to suddenly be involved in. Jefferson and the Vikings might be further apart than experts and industry pundits think they are if the team considered dealing him on the night of the NFL Draft.

With Amon-Ra St. Brown resetting the market this offseason with his massive extension, that might also create a hindrance in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Assuming this buzz is true, of course.

The NFL world had much to say over this Justin Jefferson trade rumor.

[Pro Football Talk]

About Chris Novak

Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022