Vikings Territory: The Chris Herndon Trade Is Not Like The Yannick Ngakoue Trade

Press release from Vikings Territory:

2021-09-03

When the Minnesota VIkings traded a 2nd-Round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for EDGE rusher Yannick Ngakoue late in the summer of 2020, the excitement was palpable. Ngakoue, a sack merchant from the AFC, was supposed to pair with Danielle Hunter, creating one of the NFL’s most hectic pass-rushing forces.

Hunter was lost for the entirety of the 2020 NFL season to a neck injury. Meanwhile, Ngakoue patched together a few sacks amid the Vikings 1-5 start to the pandemic season but was traded to the Baltimore Ravens during the Week 7 bye. Put bluntly, Ngakoue — for some reason or another — did not fit with the Vikings defense. Perhaps the outcome could have been different with a healthy Hunter or a winning record. But the 2020 Vikings and Ngakoue did not jell.

Fast forward to the late summer of 2021, and the Vikings shipped a 4th-Round pick to the New York Jets for tight Chris Herndon and a 6th-Round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Foremost, there is no verifiable proof Herndon will be the bonafide starter at tight end. Ngakoue was the undisputed starter at EDGE rusher with the temporary exodus of Everson Griffen from the franchise. Then, Hunter was hurt, and Ngakoue was the last man standing. With Herndon, it will be snazzy if he emerges as a TE1, but the Vikings have plans for Tyler Conklin to receive targets in the passing game.

A starting defensive end is more impactful than a TE2 [who hopes to see TE1 action].

These are the 12 picks by the Vikings from the 4th Round since 2015:

None of those names should blow a Vikings fan out of the water. They’re serviceable dudes — and that’s what 4th-Rounders ordinarily provide.

Those men, on the whole, are terrific football players. The aforementioned 4th-Rounders pale in comparison to Spielman’s 2nd-Round work.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday along with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).

This press release was produced by Vikings Territory .The views expressed here are the author’s own.