Vikings draft news and rumors: Minnesota gets clarity on moving up for J.J. McCarthy

The Minnesota Vikings might have revealed their strategy in moving up the draft board for J.J. McCarthy. They traded their second and sixth-round selections in the 2024 draft and their 2025 second-rounder for the Houston Texans’ 2024 first-round pick.

The transaction gave them two first-round choices in the upcoming draft, enough capital to possibly make teams with early picks to explore a trade. However, The MMQB’s Lead Content Strategist and Senior NFL reporter Albert Breer revealed how far Minnesota can advance in the draft board.

Breer wrote in his March 19 column on Sports Illustrated:

“Assuming the Bears, Commanders, and Patriots stay put, and draft quarterbacks—zero of the three have shown an appetite for trading one of those picks—McCarthy is not just worthy of being, at worst, the fourth QB off the board, but maybe someone worth moving up for.”

Therefore, the highest Minnesota can go up the draft order is the 4th overall selection. The Arizona Cardinals will listen to their proposal, especially after possessing two first-round choices.

The Vikings have partially addressed their need for a quarterback after signing Sam Darnold to a one-year deal worth up to $10 million. However, he’s more of a bridge solution for the next franchise quarterback they hope to land.

J.J. McCarthy could be that guy, even if NFL Draft experts projected him as a late first-round pick earlier in the offseason. In that case, nearly a quarter of the total runs on Sportskeeda’s Mock Draft Simulator had the former Michigan Wolverines standout going to the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 20th overall pick.

J.J. McCarthy's 2023 stats with the Michigan Wolverines.

However, the Steelers chose another option, signing Russell Wilson to a one-year veteran minimum deal ($1.2 million) and trading for 2021 first-round pick Justin Fields.

The biggest knock against J.J. McCarthy’s game is that his numbers don't make for impressive reading as compared to his peers. But while he only had 2,291 yards and 22 touchdowns in his final year at Ann Arbor, he manifested his field awareness by knowing when to activate running back Blake Corum.

McCarthy’s draft stock skyrocketed after team scouts and executives saw his performances during the 2024 NFL Combine. While Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels are the consensus top three choices at quarterback, J.J. McCarthy may have narrowed the gap.

NFL.com draft expert Lance Zierlein highlighted the increasing clamor for J.J. McCarthy by tweeting:

“Had a discussion with a position coach for a team who doesn’t need QB who couldn’t stop gushing about JJ McCarthy and his timing, vision, and intangibles. I’m telling you.... has a real shot of being QB3”

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How many picks do the Vikings have in the 2024 NFL Draft?

After trading away some picks, the Minnesota Vikings have nine selections throughout the draft. Barring additional trades, they will pick next in the fourth round (108th and 129th overall) after their two selections in Round 1 (11th and 23rd overall). The Vikings earned their latter Round 4 pick during the T.J. Hockenson trade.

The Vikings will have two selections in the fifth round. After the trade, they acquired the 157th overall pick that sent Za’Darius Smith to the Cleveland Browns. Ten picks later, Minnesota will be on the clock again after a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Minnesota has one pick in the sixth round (177th overall) thanks to the trade that sent Ezra Cleveland to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Finally, they have two selections in the seventh round (230th and 232nd overall), with the earlier one courtesy of the Joshua Dobbs trade.

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Exploring J.J. McCarthy’s scouting report

The College Football Playoff National Champion and three-time Big Ten Champion gets high praise for his leadership qualities.

He always placed the Wolverines in their best winning chances by taking what opposing defenses based on his pre-snap read. Scouts also marveled at his accuracy, committing only 11 interceptions in college.

Conversely, there are questions regarding his arm strength. Sportskeeda NFL insider Tony Pauline pointed out that Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe generated a better zip on his throws despite losing to J.J. McCarthy and Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

Likewise, he threw only 659 passes in three years, a far cry from Caleb Williams’ 1,099 throwing attempts in three seasons at USC. The volume of McCarthy’s pass attempts under coach Jim Harbaugh could make NFL teams skeptical about sustaining his accuracy with more passing attempts.