Minnesota Vikings

The Athletic's Jeff Howe predicts that New York Giants will trade the sixth overall pick in this year's NFL draft and a 2025 second-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals in order to move up to fourth overall to take Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy on Thursday night. Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort is eager to trade down for a second straight year. If LSU's Jayden Daniels or North Carolina's Drake Maye remain available at No. 4, the Minnesota Vikings or Las Vegas Raiders would probably become more aggressive in pursuing the fourth overall pick. "I think there's going to be a race to McCarthy between the Giants and Vikings," a coach said. McCarthy doesn't have the upside that the top three QBs in this class do, but rival executives cited concerns with Giants current QB Daniel Jones' (knee) health after tearing his ACL and dealing with a neck injury in 2023.

Former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning recently talked with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy and said the Broncos are interested in him with the 2024 NFL draft beginning on Thursday night. "I know Denver is very interested in him and it sounded like a place he'd love to come to but it's a little bit out of his control," Manning told Denver Sports over the air. McCarthy played in a pro-style offense at Michigan and led the Wolverines to the national championship earlier this year. He wasn't allowed to throw the ball that much in college, but he really impressed at his pro day and has been rising up draft boards ever since. McCarthy is a candidate to go in the first five picks on Thursday night, although it seems unlikely that Denver has the ammunition to pull off a trade up into the top five this year to select McCarthy, especially after trading for Zach Wilson on Tuesday.

The New England Patriots had dinner with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy on Sunday night and are hosting him on a visit on Monday in Foxborough, according to a source. The Patriots own the No. 3 overall pick and previously hosted North Carolina's Drake Maye and LSU's Jayden Daniels. It's no surprise that the Pats are doing their due diligence on this year's top quarterbacks not named Caleb Williams, who is expected to be taken first overall by the Chicago Bears. McCarthy's draft stock has soared since his impressive pro day, and it seems more likely that he'll now be taken within the top-10 selections later this month. New England continues to try and figure out the QB position since Tom Brady left, as the Mac Jones experiment clearly didn't work out. The Patriots traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason.

Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said that wide receiver Justin Jefferson did not report on Monday for Day 1 of voluntary workouts. The workouts this spring are voluntary, and Jefferson is angling for a new contract. It was a disappointing year for Jefferson in 2023 due to injury, as he played in a career-low 10 games. However, the three-time Pro Bowler still managed to go over 1,000 yards receiving for the fourth straight season to begin his NFL career, also adding five touchdowns. The 24-year-old remains one of the best wideouts, if not the best, in football when he's healthy. However, contract situation aside, his fantasy value for 2024 is inevitably going to take a hit after quarterback Kirk Cousins left in free agency to play for the Atlanta Falcons.

With quarterback Kirk Cousins now with the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell needs a new QB to utilize a talented group of receivers, and The Athletic's Bruce Feldman is hearing the Vikes are very interested in Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy, who went 27-1 as the Wolverines starter and led the team to the national title last year. Feldman is even suggesting the Vikings could trade all the way up to No. 4 overall with the Arizona Cardinals to take McCarthy in this year's NFL draft. The 21-year-old didn't put up the gaudy stats that the high-end names in this year's draft did, but he has honed pro-style footwork and threw 44 touchdowns to only nine picks in two seasons as the starter. McCarthy can also run, going for nine TDs and more than 500 yards on the ground. Landing in Minnesota would probably give him the most short- and long-term fantasy upside.