Minnesota moved up three spots in the 2007 second round and…
Minnesota moved up three spots in the 2007 second round and selected wide receiver Sidney Rice at No. 44, sending Atlanta Nos. 41 and 121. Rice developed into Brett Favre's top deep threat during the Vikings' 2009 NFC Championship run, posting 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns that season. Atlanta used No. 41 on cornerback Chris Houston, whose uneven three-year Falcons tenure left Minnesota with the stronger payoff.
Atlanta Falcons Received
- pick 2007 2nd round pick (41st overall, Chris Houston)
Minnesota Vikings Received
- pick 2007 2nd round pick (44th overall, Sidney Rice)
- pick 2007 4th round pick (121st overall subsequently traded, Marcus Thomas )
Trade Analysis
Minnesota entered the 2007 draft needing another high-upside receiver and moved from No. 41 to No. 44 through Atlanta to secure Sidney Rice. The price was a fourth-round pick, but the Vikings believed Rice's size, body control and production at South Carolina gave him a chance to become a primary target. His first two seasons were uneven, partly because of injuries and Minnesota's unsettled passing game, yet the investment broke open when Brett Favre arrived in 2009.
Rice caught 83 passes for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns that season, earned a Pro Bowl selection and became Favre's most dangerous downfield option. He added 10 catches for 184 yards and two scores in the divisional playoff win over Dallas and remained a major threat during the run to the NFC Championship Game. A hip injury cost him much of 2010, and he left for Seattle in free agency after four Vikings seasons, which keeps the deal from an A-plus. Even so, Minnesota received a legitimate peak season from a second-round receiver at exactly the moment the roster was capable of contending.
Atlanta selected cornerback Chris Houston at No. 41. Houston played three seasons for the Falcons and started 37 games, but inconsistency in coverage prevented him from becoming a foundational defensive back. Atlanta traded him to Detroit in 2010, where he enjoyed a stronger portion of his career. The fourth-rounder Atlanta added was later moved, so the trade-down did not yield a second core player that could offset Rice's Minnesota peak.
The Falcons' logic was reasonable: move back only three spots, still take a player at a premium position and collect another choice. The execution was merely ordinary. Minnesota paid a modest premium and got a Pro Bowl receiver whose best season helped power one of the franchise's deepest postseason runs. That makes the Vikings the clear winner.