Mel Kiper Jr., Daniel Jeremiah unveil post-free agency mock drafts: Vikings going QB in both
Is it a coincidence that two of the most respect NFL Draft analysts both have the Vikings selecting quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the first round on April 25?
It very well could be, but Mel Kiper Jr. and Daniel Jeremiah both unveiled their post-free agency mock drafts on Tuesday and both have Minnesota taking the former Michigan quarterback. Kiper, however, didn't project any trades in his mock while Jeremiah did – and the logic after the Vikings traded for Houston's first-round pick (23rd overall) is that Minnesota could package their two first-rounders to move into the top five.
Let's start with Jeremiah's mock. He has quarterbacks going 1-2-3-4 to start the draft, with Caleb Williams to the Bears at No. 1, Drake Maye to the Commanders at No. 2, Jayden Daniels to the Patriots at No. 3 and then McCarthy to the Vikings at No. 4 after moving up in a trade with the Cardinals.
"After their recent trade with the Texans, it seems the Vikings are situated to aggressively move up to draft Kirk Cousins’ replacement," Jeremiah explains. "The Cardinals trade down, bypassing a chance to pick the first receiver off the board, but they address the position later in Round 1."
Kiper calls the Vikings "the most interesting team in this draft" because they have picks 11 and 23. He, however, wonders how far they will be able to trade up.
"They just acquired another first-round pick in a deal with the Texans (No. 23), giving them the capital to move up and take a quarterback if they got the opportunity. But how far could they move up? Remember, it takes two sides to make a trade. Would the Giants want to risk missing out on one of the top receivers? Would the Titans want to risk missing out on their preferred tackle? Would the Falcons or Bears want to risk not getting the edge rusher they like? There's not an easy match, unless Minnesota is willing to give up a lot of future picks, which is certainly possible," Kiper says.
Kiper also wrote in his mock that he could see the Patriots trading back from No. 3, noting that "Las Vegas, Denver, Minnesota could be options" to move up and take a quarterback.
Making the case for each QB the Vikings could be looking to pick in trade up
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.