The Vikings… and JJ McCarthy

The Vikings had their draft around a month ago. Their draft was especially interesting to people because of what they did with their picks. The Vikings traded up with both of their first-round picks and got great players, but they might have overpaid to trade up.

In many mock drafts, the Vikings were projected to trade up into the top 5 picks (giving up 2 to 3 first-round picks in the process) to get JJ McCarthy. Instead, McCarthy fell all the way down to pick number 10, where the Vikings traded up one pick to secure him. According to ESPN Analytics, there was only a 19% chance McCarthy was still on the board at 10. But the controversy comes with the trade-up 1 pick to get McCarthy. The Vikings gave up pick 11, a fourth-round pick, and a fifth-round pick to get pick 10 and a seventh-round pick. That is a lot of draft capital to move up one spot, regardless of if it is in the top 15 picks. It may work out though, as the Vikings had a big hole at quarterback and McCarthy is a winner (27-1 record in college as a starter). Some like McCarthy’s game, some don’t, but McCarthy might be a key factor to a talented Vikings offense.

However, McCarthy might not be the most talented player the Vikings drafted. The Vikings traded up from pick 23 to pick 17 to draft Dallas Turner. Turner was also projected to go in the top 10 on multiple mock drafts but he somehow fell to 17. Turner is an elite edge rusher who will help fill the gap of Danielle Hunter. He will be a great addition to new Vikings Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel off the edge. Turner possesses the ability to be similar to Danielle Hunter. But the Vikings might have overpaid to get him. To trade up 6 spots, the Vikings traded pick 17, a 2024 fifth-round pick (which turned out to be Keilan Robinson), and 2025 fourth and fifth-round picks from next year. Many say that the Vikings got fleeced by the Jaguars. The Vikings' need for an edge rusher wasn’t big, and they traded up a lot to get Turner. He is very talented though, so this pick could end up either way.

But will the Vikings even be good this year? Or in the next couple of years? Who knows. Realistically, nobody knows who will turn out good in the draft. But McCarthy is in such a good situation with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and a great offensive line. Dallas Turner is one of the most sure-fire players in draft, so he will likely be good. The rest of the Vikings draft class was okay. There were head-scratching picks (like selecting the first kicker in the draft), but the rest of the draft class was ok. They likely won’t be great this year, but JJ McCarthy has a bright future, so maybe the Vikings do too.