Minnesota Vikings

Despite taking a brief pause in contract negotiations during NFL draft weekend, Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said the team and wide receiver Justin Jefferson continue to make progress. "We continue to have great dialogue with their representatives," Adofo-Mensah said. "The process is still ongoing. We did say, 'Hey, [let's pause] a couple days.' The draft's coming. They have players they represent. We have our process." The two sides have been discussing a new deal for more than a year, with the GM saying previously they got "unbelievably close" to a deal last summer. Despite going on Injured Reserve in 2023 with a hamstring injury, Jefferson still went over 1,000 yards receiving and scored five touchdowns. Sooner than later, he's going to become the league's highest-paid wideout.

The Minnesota Vikings drafted quarterback J.J. McCarthy 10th overall in this year's NFL draft for him to be their future starter, but the team is poised to err on the side of methodical caution with their young signal-caller. "We're not going to rush his development," general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said. "We're just going to do what's best for the Vikings in the short and long term." McCarthy will be required to hit specific benchmarks in his development, and head coach Kevin O'Connell will have full authority to make the decision on when he thinks McCarthy is ready to start. It's a big reason the Vikings spent $10 million to sign veteran Sam Darnold as a bridge starter. McCarthy just turned 21 in January and played in an offense at Michigan that had him throw an average of 22.1 passes per game in 2023, fewer than 93 other college QBs.

The Minnesota Vikings traded up one spot from 11th to 10th with the New York Jets in the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday night to select Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The Vikings wanted McCarthy all along and ended up not needing to trade into the top five to get their next franchise signal-caller. McCarthy won a national championship with the Wolverines last year but wasn't asked to do a lot with a strong running back behind him. He ran a pro-style offense in college, which should give him a high floor at the next level, and he'll be set up well for future success in Minnesota with a great one-two punch in receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. The talent is there with McCarthy, but he also didn't have the big sample size that the other big-name QB prospects in this draft did. McCarthy won't necessarily start in his rookie year in 2024 with Sam Darnold also in town.

The current expectation is that the Minnesota Vikings will stay put at pick No. 11 overall in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday night, and that Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy will be on the board when they're on the clock. The Vikings added an extra first-round pick (No. 23) to aid a potential jump into the top five to take a franchise signal-caller, but they may not need to do that after all. The Denver Broncos have been subtly linked to McCarthy as well, and they'd only have to jump from No. 12 to No. 10 to cut in front of Minnesota. McCarthy has also been linked to the New York Giants (No. 6) in recent days, but that's believed to have been a smokescreen. The Vikings are desperate for a new QB after failing to re-sign Kirk Cousins in free agency.

When asked by Rich Eisen if he has any idea on where he's going to end up in this week's NFL draft, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy hinted at the New York Giants, who currently own the No. 6 overall pick in the first round on Thursday night. "I have somewhat of an Idea, New York, #Giants, I've spent the most time with. They're a phenomenal staff," McCarthy said. The young QB's stock has been rising rapidly ever since his pro-day workout. Reports suggest the Giants and Vikings could be in a raise to trade up to select McCarthy, who is attractive because of his experience running a pro-style offense in college. With Daniel Jones (knee) coming off a torn ACL and with no guaranteed money owed to him beyond 2024, the G-Men have done their due diligence on QBs in this year's draft and feel like a lock to take one at some point this week.