There have been a lot of mock drafts that have the Minnesota Vikings moving up for a quarterback in the NFL Draft. They have gone as high as second overall to get that quarterback of the future with the most popular spots being at four with the Arizona Cardinals and five with the Los Angeles Chargers.
One situation that we don't see often is the Vikings staying at 11th overall and getting one of the top four quarterbacks. Now, its not an impossibility. We saw in 2021 when five quarterbacks went in the top 15 picks Justin Fields surprisingly fell to 11th overall and Mac Jones went at 15th overall.
The latest mock draft from Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News saw the Vikings being able to capitalize on just that by taking Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy at 11th overall.
The Vikings will do their best to move up, as they now have two first-rounders in play, but McCarthy's live arm and gritty athletic playmaking should appeal to them here should he fall past the non-QB needy teams.
After the Vikings end up scoring big by getting their quarterback at 11, they still have the 23rd overall pick to play with. It's something that the Vikings would love to be able to keep in their back pocket if possible to add a player on the defensive side of the football. Iyer has them taking Illinois defensive tackle Johnny Newton who could be a game-wrecker on the inside.
The Vikings will be focused on their QB first, and with no pressing offensive concerns, they can continue to revamp their defense for DC Brian Flores after landing Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Blake Cashman in free agency. Newton can give them additional pass-rush pop up front.
Would this be a home run draft for the Vikings? It certainly could be if the Vikings hit on both players.
