Analyzing the 2023 trade deadline moves: Washington defensive ends going different ways at the deadline

Joshua Dobbs traded from the Cardinals to the Vikings

Minnesota adds veteran QB after Kirk Cousins goes down

Vikings receive: Joshua Dobbs and 2024 seventh-round draft pick

Cardinals receive: 2024 sixth-round draft pick

We’ve reached the Vikings portion of this program and this is definitely a curious one, because we weren’t sure what exactly they were as an organization coming into each of the past two seasons. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah called this a “competitive rebuild” ahead of 2022, yet head coach Kevin O’Connell did an excellent job of leading him team to a perfect 11-0 record in one-score games and a 13-4 season overall, only to lose at home to another very surprising Wildcard team in the (9-7-1) Giants.

Starting this year off 0-3 with all three losses coming by one score proved that negative regression was imminent. However, following that up by winning three of their next four (two against the Panthers and Bears, but also the 49ers and seven-point loss to the Chiefs), all of sudden gave them some hope again, especially with how murky the NFC has been outside the top-four teams.

Because of that, seeing Kirk Cousins tear his Achilles this past Sunday in a 24-10 win at Green Bay was a gut-punch to the entire organization. So while detached from the situation, you’d look at this in a very pragmatic sense and let it make the decision for you, to just ride it out with what you have and put yourself in closer range for a quarterback in next year’s draft, you are currently the seven-seed and the rest of the team deserves better than just throwing fifth-round pick Jaren Hall (BYU) out there.

This way you placate your offensive head coach and fanbase, for the least impactful pick-swap possible in one year. I had Joshua Dobbs at number 22 as part of my quarterback rankings a couple of weeks ago and while he’s definitely taken a step down over the past month (four TDs vs. five INTs), I probably wouldn’t drop him down too far from that. When you don’t press him to be more than he is, he can give you quality play and add an effective scrambling dimension.

For the Cardinals, this move in a vacuum may not be as meaningful as it may end up being for the Vikings, who remain in the hunt for that final Wildcard spot, compared to the 1-7 group moving on for Dobbs. However, on a larger spectrum, how the rest of Arizona’s season turns out and what their ultimate plan at the quarterback position is, could end up actually being more fascinating.

Considering they only teams below .500 currently still on their schedule are the Rams and then a trip to Chicago, nobody’s expecting this team to really make noise still, even though they had at least been largely competitive so far. The interesting component here is when Kyler Murray returns and how first-year general manager Monti Ossenfort makes his decision on who they’ll build the franchise around at that spot.

I believe Kyler generally is one of the most underrated signal-callers across the NFL, considering the mismanagement of the rest of the roster and the high quality of play we’ve seen from him when healthy and getting some help. Yet, with the Panthers just winning their first game of the season, Arizona is once again on pace for the first overall pick in next year’s draft, along with having the Texans selection on top of it, which currently would be number 12.

So they could still choose to play another one of those fifth-rounders from this past April in Clayton Tune (Houston) and stay on schedule for USC’s Caleb Williams or North Carolina’s Drake Maye at the top of the class. Or even if they’re happy sticking with Kyler, at least giving him a little more time and setting yourself up to be in control of the draft, as six of eight teams between their picks right now may be in the QB market and willing to part with substantial resources – including Chicago currently with second and third overall.

If they do put Kyler back out there as early as this Sunday, I’m interested in what he’d need to show them, in order for them not to potentially increase their draft capital even further and re-set the rookie QB clock. And that brings us to the one player the Vikes already traded away.