NFL analyst predicts Vikings’ potential Adam Thielen trade with compensation that’s both reasonable and impossible
The Minnesota Vikings have been linked to a trade for Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen for just more than a week. It was reported by the big news breakers, and the beat writers started saying some of the same things. Bringing him home would be a great idea for multiple reasons. Thielen is a […]
The Minnesota Vikings have been linked to a trade for Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen for just more than a week. It was reported by the big news breakers, and the beat writers started saying some of the same things.
Bringing him home would be a great idea for multiple reasons. Thielen is a fan favorite after being the hometown hero who went to Minnesota State University-Mankato on a $500 scholarship. He also made two Pro Bowls before heading to the Carolina Panthers.
NFL analyst predicts compensation for Adam Thielen trade
One of the biggest factors in determining a potential trade for Thielen is predicting the compensation. Thielen is due $7 million, which includes $725k of per-game roster bonuses. The Vikings would like the Panthers to eat some of that money, but it’s likely holding up a potential move, especially after the Panthers already paid a $1.5 million roster bonus.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell predicted the compensation of the trade would be the Vikings sending a 2026 sixth-round pick and a 2027 seventh-round pick. Overall, this feels like fair compensation, especially if the Vikings are absorbing the entirety of Thielen’s contract. There is one problem with the trade as Barnwell laid it out:
The Vikings no longer have a sixth-round pick in 2026.
They have made multiple trades during the course of the last year with sixth-round picks. They started by trading their original pick to the Houston Texans for Cam Akers. Then, they got it back for Ed Ingram before shipping it off to the San Francisco 49ers for Jordan Mason. Last week, they got one back for Harrison Phillips and immediately sent it to the Philadelphia Eagles for Sam Howell.
Now, they do have two sixth-round picks and two seventh-round picks in 2027 use, but trading picks that far in advance isn’t something that general managers often like to do since there is often uncertainty about whether they will be the ones to make those picks.
If the Vikings are likely to make this happen, it would probably require a fifth-round pick, as they have two they can currently trade and a potential third coming as a compensatory selection.
If this trade occurs, it will be due to the brilliance of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
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