Minnesota Vikings

Following this year's NFL draft in which the Minnesota Vikings didn't take a single receiver, Brandon Powell, Jalen Nailor and Trent Sherfield are all candidates to fill the No. 3 receiver role heading into the 2024 season. All-Pro Justin Jefferson is the team's unquestioned No. 1, with second-year man Jordan Addison settling in as the No. 2 after a strong rookie campaign in 2023. K.J. Osborn left for the New England Patriots in free agency this offseason. Tight end T.J. Hockenson is coming off a torn ACL, so Powell could see more looks early on in 2024 if he actually wins the No. 3 job in training camp this summer. The 28-year-old former undrafted free agent out of Florida set career-highs in catches (29) and receiving yards (324) with one touchdown in 17 games (two starts) in his first year in Minnesota in 2023.

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.