The Minnesota Vikings have a history of trading with the New York Jets. Just last season, they traded a fourth-round pick for tight end Chris Herndon and a sixth-round pick.
There has been a lot of speculation with wide receiver Denzel Mims since the start of head coach Robert Saleh’s tenure with the Jets. Mims was curiously low on the depth chart and still hasn’t played much thus far with only 20 games played in his career.
Mims’ agent Ron Slavin released a statement on behalf of Mims requesting a trade.
A statement from Ron Slavin, agent of #Jets WR Denzel Mims: pic.twitter.com/Na87vimRJd
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 25, 2022
It is worth noting that according to the statement, the Jets have told them multiple times. The question remains: who would trade for the former Baylor Bear?
The Carolina Panthers, who made the trade for quarterback Sam Darnold last offseason, have been known to target players who played for head coach Matt Rhule at Temple and Baylor. They kept up with that trend and have contacted the Jets about acquiring the wide receiver.
The question remains: should the Minnesota Vikings trade for Mims?
They had three opportunities to select Mims, but chose to take Justin Jefferson, Jeff Gladney and Ezra Cleveland at those spots in the 2020 draft. While they separated massively once they got to the NFL, they were the consensus fourth and fifth wide receivers in the 2020 draft class. The skillset is there with Mims, he just hasn’t put it together.
Mims is a big-bodied player (6’3/207) who ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash and a 38.5″ vertical jump. He knows how to get the ball at the catch point and win over the top.
His biggest issues are drops (over 11% drop rate at Baylor) and his unwillingness to be physical in contested catch situations.
Is Mims worth a flier? I believe so. The toolset is there and I once believed that he could be a Julio Jones-style receiver. The price would likely be a fifth or sixth-round pick in a swap for another day three pick. He would fit in well as a fourth-fifth option giving the room a big body for red zone and short yardage situations.
The Vikings would be smart to at the very least inquire about Mims but will they want to make a move for him?
