Reasons to trade up for quarterback J.J. McCarthy by the Minnesota Vikings.
The Minnesota Vikings are set up to move up in the 2024 NFL Draft to select a quarterback. In the midst of the ongoing discussion about which signal-caller Minnesota should select, we present evidence in favor of the Vikings selecting quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
Obviously, Caleb Williams is out of the picture because Minnesota will play the quarterback for the Chicago Bears twice a year. Thus, McCarthy, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels have the final say. I present my case for the Michigan Wolverines quarterback in the first installment of our analysis series.
Although no club has come close to matching the Washington Commanders’ asking price, the franchise is still open to surrendering the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Though Minnesota might be able to assemble a strong enough package, Washington is more likely to select its quarterback with the highest rating. Therefore, a deal with the New England Patriots might be struck in its place.
Minnesota would only have three picks in the top 150 after this trade, and it would only have first-, third-, and fifth-round picks in 2025. The advantage of having a quarterback on a rookie-level contract, though, is that you can use that cap room to sign free agents. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the general manager, may thus continue to add talent on both sides of the ball.
Now that a possible trade package has been identified, we can compare McCarthy to Kirk Cousins and analyze how well he fits into Kevin O’Connell’s scheme as a whole.
