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The Athletic's Alec Lewis argued Kevin O'Connell and the Minnesota Vikings could target Wisconsin wide receiver Vinny Anthony II late in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Minnesota Vikings are yet to fill the WR3 hole that Jalen Nailor left in free agency in March.
The Vikings have since hosted free agent Jauan Jennings on a visit, but no deal has been finalized yet. Minnesota also brought in 4 UDFA WR’s after the 2026 NFL Draft.
It will be an uphill battle for these men to get the WR4 position, let alone WR3. The Vikings still employ Tai Felton, and have plenty of options on the free agency market.
Recently, a theory has surfaced that the Vikings could go the trade route for the position.
GettyINGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 22: Quarterback Brandon Aiyuk #11 of the San Francisco 49ers warms up before a game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Dustin Baker of Vikings Territory recently shouted out Brandon Aiyuk as a potential trade candidate for the Vikings.
“The 49ers and Aiyuk have fallen out of love. They don’t want each other anymore. It’s just that San Francisco is in no hurry to drop Aiyuk, insisting he’s available for trade but also that he won’t play for the 49ers again. It’s a standoff.
At his peak, Aiyuk is a magnificent WR2, with the upside of a WR1; at least that this used to be his trajectory when San Francisco paid him a boatload of cash.
If the 49ers are able to trade Aiyuk, the deal will probably come together when San Francisco’s financial pain is less after June 1st. Naturally, Aiyuk would fit wonderfully in Minnesota. Kyle Shanahan and Kevin O’Connell’s systems have similarities.”
Baker lists the potential compensation sent to the 49ers as a 6th round pick. It would be a low-risk, high-reward move. It’s unclear if Aiyuk even wants to play football again, and it could certainly come with some headaches for the Vikings.
GettySANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 06: Brandon Aiyuk #11 of the San Francisco 49ers reacts after catching a pass for a first down against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium on October 06, 2024 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
On a recent episode of The Pat McAfee Show, insider Adam Schefter revealed that Aiyuk isn’t making things easy.
“Well, we know he’s not going to be back in San Francisco.
We know that the team is ready to move on from him, and they’ve advertised, including this weekend, at every turn that they would trade him for whatever they could get back for him.
And I think the reason a team’s not trading for him right now is they don’t want to assume the current contract that he has, and so it’s a situation where he hasn’t been in clear, constant communication with the Niners, they’ve had a hard time getting ahold of him. Other teams, I think, have attempted to reach out, they’ve had a hard time getting ahold of him.”
Aiyuk has seemingly been playing career-sabotage on himself for months now. It’s hard to imagine that the Vikings want anything to do with a player like that. However, they may be attractive enough of a situation for Aiyuk to play ball.
Brevan Bane Brevan Bane is a sports scribe covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals. Brevan began his writing career by making a platform on Twitter and leveraging his presence into writing and content creation opportunities for outlets like PurplePTSD, Vikings Territory, The Noise, Hockey Wilderness, and the VikesNow YouTube channel. You can follow him on X @brevmanbane. More about Brevan Bane
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