Four quarterbacks came off the board before the Vikings had a chance to pick on Thursday night, but Minnesota came away with the signal-caller it wanted.
The Vikings traded up one pick to select Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy, adding McCarthy to a quarterback room headlined by Sam Darnold as the franchise tries to replace Kirk Cousins.
McCarthy was reported to be a target of the Vikings, but with the No. 11 pick, it was far from certain the Michigan standout would last all the way until their selection. The Giants passed on him at No. 6, however, and the Falcons surprised everyone by taking Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8.
That left McCarthy just one pick away from reaching the Vikings, but Minnesota chose to erase all doubt and put itself in position to make him their quarterback of the future.
Here's a closer look at the Vikings' trade with the Jets and why they decided to move up.
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Why did the Vikings trade up for J.J. McCarthy?
The Vikings' decision to give up assets just to move up one pick is sure to raise some eyebrows, particularly knowing there was no expectation the Jets were interested in McCarthy. The reason for the deal is simple, though: New York was likely dangling the pick in trade talks with another quarterback-needy team.
The 49ers pulled off the same maneuver in 2020, convincing the Buccaneers to trade up from No. 14 to No. 13 to select OT Tristan Wirfs. It wasn't out of the question that San Francisco could have taken Wirfs, considering the organization's Trent Williams trade didn't come for two more days, but Tampa knew the 49ers were open to trading down and jumped up to avoid any other team moving up for Wirfs.
Similarly, the Vikings knew the Broncos and Raiders were two quarterback-needy teams who could have moved up to select McCarthy. The Jets were reported to be open to trading down for an offensive tackle, and New York likely convinced Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah that the pick was going elsewhere if it wasn't traded to Minnesota.
The Vikings lost some assets on Day 3 to go up and grab their quarterback before anyone else could, and that deal will be well worth the cost if McCarthy does turn out to be a franchise signal-caller.
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What did the Vikings trade for J.J. McCarthy?
The Vikings dealt picks No. 129 and No. 157 to the Jets along with No. 11, in exchange for picks No. 10 and 203.
Trade terms: Vikings traded No. 11 overall, a 4th-round pick and a 5th-round pick to the Jets in exchange for No. 10 and pick No. 203.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 26, 2024
Minnesota already didn't own any Day 2 picks after its March deal with the Texans to acquire an additional first-round pick, so the organization's draft got even thinner on Thursday night. With that being said, keeping the No. 23 pick is a significant win considering many expected the Vikings to have to use that selection to trade up for a quarterback.
For the Jets, there is no real downside to the deal. The Vikings selecting McCarthy didn't remove any realistic option from New York's draft board, and the Jets added a pair of mid-round picks while only dealing No. 203 in addition to No. 10.
The Jets used the No. 11 pick on Penn State tackle Olu Fashanu, bolstering their offensive line after adding Tyron Smith in free agency.
