For months, the Minnesota Vikings 2024 draft choice has been carved into an either-or choice between two quarterbacks: Drake Maye of North Carolina and J.J. McCarthy from Michigan.
Day-of Mock Drafts All Say Same Guy for Vikings
Folks will learn an answer tonight as the 2024 NFL Draft kicks off in Detroit, and according to day-of mock drafts, the pick will be McCarthy, not Maye.
Vikings fans have expressed a preference for Maye over McCarthy, but with reality setting in, many draft heads have dialed back the McCarthy ascension into the Top 4 and plopped him onto Minnesota’s roster somewhere between Pick 5 and 11. In fact, down the line, draft-day mocks lean into McCarthy for Minnesota. That’s close to the only outcome from credible versions.
NFL.com’s Pete Schrager, known for earnest prognostications, picked McCarthy for the purple team and wrote“The Vikings sweat through the Chargers’ and Giants’ picks and care to sweat no more. To move up four spots, Minnesota gives Tennessee a host of future picks, including a first-rounder, but holds on to No. 23 overall. McCarthy lands in the best immediate situation of all of this year’s top QBs. Remember, GMs Ran Carthon and Kwesi Adofo Mensah have a long history together from their days in San Francisco.”
It’s worth noting that Schrager theorized a Vikings trade with the Tennessee Titans at pick No. 7 in his final mock.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler rolled with McCarthy to the Twin Cities, too, via trade with the Los Angeles Charger at No. 5 and explained“It feels like it’ll be a race between the Vikings and Broncos to nab the draft’s fourth quarterback. In this scenario, the Vikings win out and trade up with the Chargers to take McCarthy.”
SI.com’s Albert Breer followed suit with McCarthy: “Failing to land Maye, the Vikings call everyone’s bluff, and wind up with the draft’s fourth quarterback eight picks after the first run on the position concluded. I wouldn’t rule out a short move up the board just to protect against Denver leapfrogging them. Or even, say, packaging Nos. 11 and 23 to get Nos. 6 and 47 from the Giants. But if this happens? What a huge win it’d be for the Vikings, with the extra first-rounder acquired to engineer a trade up still intact.”
And those are just the tip of the iceberg. One might be hard-pressed to find a mock draft published on April 25th that doesn’t mention McCarthy to Minnesota.
McCarthy just turned 21 in January and checked in at 6’3″ + 219 pounds at the NFL Combine. He’s mobile, can make all the throws necessary to succeed in the NFL, and helped Michigan win a National Championship.
The Wolverine is also the betting favorite to be drafted by the Vikings and has been as such for about six weeks.
The world is saying McCarthy.
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.