Rick Spielman said there are six "very good football players" that the Vikings would take in a heartbeat with the 12th pick of the NFL draft on Thursday.
But in a yearly news conference usually filled with subterfuge, the team's vice president of player personnel dropped in a far more intriguing nugget Tuesday at Winter Park.
Spielman revealed that three or four clubs with interest in moving up to the 12th pick have called him, admitting it's a more likely scenario he would stay put or move back rather than improve his draft position. "We're going to look at all of those options," he said. "But a lot of that won't happen until we're actually on the clock."
Moving back in the opening round might make the most sense given the Vikings' need for a quarterback -- the feeling of some is that there won't be a quarterback left worthy of that high a selection -- and the desire to recoup the third-round pick lost to New England last season in the ill-fated trade for Randy Moss.
Trading down could enable the Vikings to address a major need and also obtain an extra pick. Spielman said not having a third-round pick doesn't eat at him -- the Vikings have nine choices overall -- but he also, unsolicited, brought up his desire to obtain one shortly after the season.
"If you can get a player you like and get a third-round pick, you'd think we've had a very successful draft," Spielman said Tuesday.
Coach Leslie Frazier understands that turning around a team that went 6-10 and finished in last place in the NFC North only will be done if he has a quarterback. Frazier has expressed a desire under a best-case scenario to build with a young quarterback, a move that would go away from the Vikings' recent trend of going with veterans.
The Vikings can't address this need through free agency or trades because, despite a ruling by a federal judge Monday, the NFL has told teams to continue operating under the rules put in place during the lockout. That means, at least for now, the draft will be the only way for teams to improve their roster.