THE ARGUMENT: The draft trade with the Packers was spot on!

Passion.  My passion for this team has been tested repeatedly for almost fifty years.  It's that passion that has me on this forum, watching every roster move, and reading everything I can to get even the smallest piece of information.  It's also that passion that has driven me to "quit" this team about a hundred or so times most memorably storming off to bed after a Monday Night lose when I was about 15 (in my defense, it was their only televised game of the season).  If my Viking's experience has taught me anything, is that I have no idea how to manage a football team and the moves they sometimes make that I passionately oppose at first, are usually good moves if I just take a breath, remove my passion, and look at it analytically.  

This has led me to the conclusion that the Packers trade on day 2 of the draft was a great move and that we did not hand the Packers a WR.  

Let's remove passion and look a the facts.  
FACT: Th Vikings came into the 2nd round with one pick at #34.
FACT: The Vikings traded the #34 pick for the Packer's #53 & #59.
FACT: The Packers selected WR Watson with that #34 pick.
FACT: The Vikings moved up to select Booth and selected IOL Ingram with the #59 pick.

Now I know many people are down on this trade.  They feel that we helped the Packers out by allowing them to get a WR that MAY be a problem for us for many years to come.  

So here's my argument;
1) When you look at the facts, the likelihood of the Packers trading up in the 2nd round to go get Watson is overwhelming. 
FACT: There were 4 WRs selected between 35-52.  None of those receivers were projected to be elite. 
FACT: There were already 6 elite WRs selected in the 1st round.
There was no way that a team in desperate need of a WR for their ultra elite QB was going to sit idly by and wait for the 10th -12th best WR available in the draft.  No way.

2) The Packers were going to make that trade with somebody. Maybe Tennessee, the Jets, Houston, or any host of teams. The Packers did not take a WR in the 1st round and we know they are in desperate need for a WR.  If the Packers didn't move up to take Watson, their fan base would have crucified them. Rogers would have been ticked off.  THEY HAD TO MOVE UP to get Watson.
FACT: In selections 35-52 (18 picks), only 7 of the picks were on the offensive side of the ball; 4 WRs, 2 RBs, & 1 IOL.  

(3) There was another needy WR team sitting at 48 who have a young QB and were in desperate need of a WR2 - the Chicago Bears.  I have no doubt that if Watson was available at #48, the Bears would have been doing cart wheels bringing the selection up to the table (I know, they don't that any more, but you get my drift).  There was no one more disappointed with the trade than the Chicago Bears.
FACT: 2021 WR stats currently on their team; Mooney (81 catches - 1055 yards), Pringle (42 - 568), St. Brown (9-98), Newsome (2-23), & 3 players (Moore, Webster, & Coulter) who had zero catches.

 (4) We got the player we wanted anyway in Booth.  Booth has the ability to walk into camp and earn a starting position.  As long as he is healthy, he is going to see significant playing time.  The trade did not prevent us from getting the player we wanted.
FACT: Booth was ranked 24th best overall selection by nflmockdraftdatabase.com.  PFF had Booth at #23.  We got him at #42.

(5) We got an additional 2nd pick by making the trade.  We filled a position of need when we selected Ingram.  Ingram has the potential to earn a starting position at guard.  There are some who think he might even be able to take reps at center thereby challenging Bradbury.  Without this trade, we we would have likely been left with interior linemen who might make the team as a backup.

The trade wasn't popular.  Many in our passionate fanbase view the trade as a betrayal. You just don't make trades within the division.  However, that's just a narrow-minded old school way of looking at things.  The evidence suggests that the Packers were going to move up and get Watson.  Period.  It was going to happen.  Even if the Packers didn't move up, the trade prevented the Bears from grabbing a talented WR as well.  We also benefitted in the trade by getting the player we wanted AND filling a position of need with a potential starter.

Some team was going to benefit from the Packers need to move up so why shouldn't it have been us?  This was a good trade for the Vikings.  It was the right move at the right time.