This Vikings-Colts Trade for TY Hilton Has Real Potential

The Indianapolis Colts were built from the ground up by GM Chris Ballard, who's made excellent draft picks like Quenton Nelson in the first round and Darius Leonard in the second.

Indy might need some more Ballard wizardry in the draft to surround Philip Rivers with enough cheap perimeter talent, and they might need to trade four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver TY Hilton, fresh off a season marred by injury and poor play, to further that end.

The Minnesota Vikings should be on the phone with Ballard right now, as they could replace the departed Stefon Diggs with Hilton.

A first-round pick is too much for Hilton and his $14 million cap hit. Rather, the Vikings should send one of their bad contracts and a third- or fourth-round pick to Indianapolis to get this deal done.

One potential player who could revitalize his career in Indianapolis is tight end Kyle Rudolph. Irv Smith has leapfrogged him on the depth chart, and Frank Reich's offense has been kind to tight ends. Rudolph and a four for Hilton is more than fair, even after a year in which Hilton struggled with inconsistency.

If this deal gets done, the Colts could surround Rivers with a plethora of young talent, all of whom would be on rookie contracts, and an experienced tight end in Rudolph. The Vikings would replace the speed and separation ability of Diggs by adding a player cut from the same cloth for an audition year. Win-win.