Latest Vikings Mock Draft Has All the Trimmings
Dustin Baker
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With free agency beginning to hit the rearview, Minnesota Vikings mock draft season — already in full force before free agency — takes center stage.
Latest Vikings Mock Draft Has All the Trimmings
And this week, NFL.com’s latest mock featured a Vikings trade up the board with the Arizona Cardinals and the eventual selection of Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
Of course, since the Vikings pulled off a trade with the Houston Texans last Friday, McCarthy and Drake Maye have been all the rage per fans for Minnesota’s next quarterback. Kirk Cousins departed the organization after six years one week ago, and two days after, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah fired off a trade, sending two 2nd-Round picks to Houston for the Texans’ 2024 1st-Rounder (Pick No. 23) and a late-round pick swap.
The transaction left Minnesota in prime territory to move up the board on draft night or before, and according to NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, McCarthy will be the Vikings’ target. He wrote, “Now the fun really begins. After their recent trade with the Texans, it seems the Vikings are situated to aggressively move up to draft Kirk Cousins’ replacement. The Cardinals trade down, bypassing a chance to pick the first receiver off the board, but they address the position later in Round 1 (SEE: Pick No. 23).”
To avoid the cliffhanger, the Cardinals later selected wide receiver Brian Thomas at pick No. 23 and also EDGE rusher Jared Verse at No. 11.
Jeremiah did not provide trade compensation details between Minnesota and Arizona, but a safe bet would be two 1st-Rounders plus deal sweetener in the form of a mid-round pick. Meanwhile, the Vikings signed veteran passer Sam Darnold last week, and he’d presumably serve as a patchover quarterback in Jeremiah’s McCarthy-to-Minnesota scenario.
Also this week, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz tweeted, some 37 days before the draft, “Sources to Bleacher Report: Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy visited the Giants last week, which included dinner with the front office and a tour of the facility. The Commanders are flying out to Ann Arbor to have dinner Thursday night with McCarthy the night before his Pro Day, per multiple sources.”
So, the Vikings may face stiff competition for McCarthy — a man who, three months ago, was forecasted as a 2nd-Round pick. Winning the National Championship did the man wonders.
McCarthy is 6’3″ and 220 pounds. He turned 21 in January, so he’s incredibly young, especially by recent draft class’ standards. He can make all throws necessary in an NFL offense, with a sidedish hesitation of his deep-ball prowess. Michigan didn’t ask McCarthy to throw deep outside the numbers too frequently, so his new NFL team will have to develop the skill or hope Michigan simply didn’t request it.
Regarding the would-be follow-up trade for the Vikings, that could hit at any minute. Or Adofo-Mensah could take his two 1st-Rounders all the way to draft night, which is April 25th.
Minnesota hasn’t chosen a quarterback in Round 1 or 2 in 10 years. Teddy Bridgewater was the last guy.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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