Questions Answered: Biggest Winner at the Deadline, Trade Letdown for Vikings, Andrew Booth

Minnesota Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah addressed the media about the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft from the TCO Performance Center. The Vikings have long-term draft needs at quarterback, cornerback, and interior offensive line.

The following questions are about current Minnesota Vikings topics, answered by VikingsTerritory. Today is the November 5th edition, addressed in a from-the-hip fashion. If you have questions, please email them to [email protected].

Questions Answered: Biggest Winner at the Deadline, Trade Letdown for Vikings, Andrew Booth

Also, please note: These are opinion-based responses. Some answers will be incorrect from time to time. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum.

Brad Rempel-Imagn Images.

Q: Who was the Vikings’ biggest winner at the trade deadline?

Brad Rempel-Imagn Images.

Answer: DT Jerry Tillery.

The Vikings made no last-minute moves on Tuesday, and in theory, they could’ve acquired an impact defensive tackle. Dexter Lawrence and Jeffery Simmons were loudly whispered in the rumor mill for about a month, but neither moved.

Interior defensive line pass rush — the run defense is actually great — will continue to be a little questionable for Minnesota, but that’s how it goes when Tillery was the main offseason solution.

Tillery won’t lose his starting job after all. But you should fully expect DT to be a premium offseason need in 2025.

Q: Were you deflated that Minnesota made no more trades on deadline day?

Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Cam Robinson (74) walks off the field after being ejected for fighting with Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown (95), not shown, during the fourth quarter of a regular season NFL football matchup Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jacksonville Jaguars blanked the Carolina Panthers 26-0. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union].

Answer: No, not all.

Adam Thielen would’ve been a cool reunion story, but it wasn’t a heartbreaker that he stayed put in Carolina.

Listen, the Vikings conducted two trades in the last three weeks — running back Cam Akers from the Houston Texans and left tackle Cam Robinson of the Jacksonville Jaguars. All things considered, that’s a lot by NFL standards.

We’re glad Minnesota held onto precious draft capital in 2025 and 2026. They need it.

Q: Andrew Booth was released by the Dallas Cowboys. Should the Vikings go get him?

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports.

Answer: For the practice squad? Sure. But they probably won’t. They traded him for a reason in August. He isn’t very good.

Booth, 24, played just three games in Dallas this season, a total non-factor in Zimmer’s defense, experiencing action on 38 defensive plays. Opposing quarterbacks fired up a 118.7 passer rating when targeting Booth in a limited sample, and Booth’s 38.9 Pro Football Focus grade was also dreadful.

He had intermixed with third-teamers for most of Vikings training camp, so folks could see the writing on the wall that he’d be waived or traded by Minnesota in late August. And that happened.

The Vikings need young cornerbacks, but that’s a 2025 offseason matter that Booth won’t solve.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL. 

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.