The Minnesota Vikings became the first team to trade up in the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday, when they moved up to the No. 10 slot to select former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. To do so, the Vikings traded picks Nos. 11, 129 and 157 to the New York Jets for picks 10 and 203.
McCarthy spent the past two seasons as Michigan’s starting quarterback, accumulating a 27-1 record. He helped the Wolverines to a 34-14 victory over Washington in the CFP national championship last season, Michigan’s first title since 1997.
The 6-foot-2, 219-pound prospect was the fifth quarterback selected within the top 10 selections. It was the first time in the common draft era (since 1967) that five QBs flew off the board that early.
Now Minnesota fills a need after losing longtime starter Kirk Cousins to the Atlanta Falcons in free agency.
Shrewd move?
So the Vikings acquired the 23rd pick in the draft to make sure they had sufficient ammo to trade up for a quarterback, but did not need to trade that pick to secure one. We do not know for sure which quarterback they wanted the most, if they are settling for McCarthy or what, but we know they were able to draft a quarterback without parlaying that 23rd pick into a move-up from 11. Instead, they give up the equivalent of a fourth-round pick to move up one spot from 11, landing McCarthy at 10. — Mike Sando, senior NFL writer
Required reading
(Photo: CFP / Getty Images)
