The Vikings are, nominally, a player for Jonathan Taylor

But I wouldn’t bet on it

In case you hadn’t already heard, yesterday the Indianapolis Colts gave star running back Jonathan Taylor permission to seek a trade out of Indy. Despite the chaos we’ve seen out of the running back position this offseason, the Colts are reportedly looking for a first-round pick in exchange for Taylor’s services.

You wouldn’t think that the Minnesota Vikings would be a player in such a market, given the fact that they had their own drama with Dalvin Cook this offseason. . .drama that, ultimately, led to Cook being released and subsequently signing with the New York Jets. But, according to our friends at the DraftKings Sportsbook, the Vikings are closer to the top of the list of potential suitors for Taylor than they probably should be.

According to DK, the Vikings are at +1500 to acquire Taylor before the start of the season. That puts them behind eight different teams on the list. They’re not that close to being the favorites or anything but, again, that’s much closer to the top of the list than I would have expected them to be.

The favorites at this point are the team that was allegedly the leader to acquire Cook via trade at some point, the Miami Dolphins, at +250. Our division rivals from Chicago are in the mix, too, with the Bears sitting just behind the Dolphins at +400.

Don’t get me wrong, Jonathan Taylor is a very good running back and would certainly add something significant to the Minnesota offense if they were to bring him on board. But as long as the Colts are asking for a first-round pick (and probably then some) for him in a trade, I would be absolutely stunned if Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and company would go ahead and pull the trigger on such a deal. The Vikings seem to be happy with their current group of backs in the wake of Cook’s departure and have enough players that have significant extensions coming to add another one in Taylor.

So, if you do hear any rumors connecting Jonathan Taylor to the Vikings, take them with as much salt as you can comfortably handle without raising your blood pressure too much.