The Minnesota Vikings have gathered assets to trade for a quarterback, which was likely to result in trickery from the teams holding the top NFL draft picks.
A former Vikings linebacker and current analyst Ben Leber of KFAN accused the New England Patriots of doing exactly that on Tuesday, April 2.
“The recent public interest the Patriots have in JJ McCarthy is just them trying to raise the price of the #3 spot,” Leber posted to X.
Vikings May Have Chance to Get J.J. McCarthy at Pick No. 5 Via Trade With Chargers
GettyFormer Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy is rising in the NFL draft rankings.
The Vikings have the No. 11 overall pick. They traded a couple of second-rounders, and more, to get the No. 23 selection from the Houston Texans. And several analysts, including Field Yates of ESPN, believe Minnesota may need/want to add a 2025 first-round pick to the mix to move into the top five and pick their preferred QB.
In Yates’ recent mock draft, he predicted the Vikings will make that deal with the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 5 instead of the Patriots at No. 3.
“I have the Vikings sending Picks 11 and 23 this year and an extra 2025 first-rounder to the Chargers to move up to No. 5 for the class’ QB4,” Yates wrote. “Minnesota would be banking on McCarthy’s combination of very good ball placement and mobility helping him become its long-term answer, with Sam Darnold in tow for 2024 if McCarthy needs time to adjust.”
Certainly, moving all the way to the third pick would be much more valuable to Minnesota for multiple reasons.
Vikings May Have to Pay Patriots’ Price to Ensure Top-4 QB of Choice
GettyHead coach Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings.
First, it would ensure that the Vikings get one of this year’s top four QB prospects.
The Chicago Bears likely will pick Caleb Williams at No. 1, while the Washington Commanders seem likely to draft a quarterback with the second pick. If New England stays put and picks its own QB third, the Vikings are at risk of missing out on the position entirely if a team like the Denver Broncos makes a compelling offer to the Arizona Cardinals and moves in at No. 4.
That’s the first problem. The second issue — and the potential fear that Leber is alleging the Patriots are stoking — is that Minnesota won’t get its chosen player if it waits until No. 5 to pick him. Even if the Vikings can make a deal with L.A. and the Cardinals stay put and pick the top wide receiver on their board, Minnesota has no control over which of the top four QBs they actually get to choose.
By moving to third, the Vikings can use their trade assets to get the quarterback they want the most. If general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell truly have strong preferences between McCarthy and Drake Maye, the Patriots are clever to use the No. 3 pick to get more value from the Vikings.
Giving up three first-round picks is a lot for Minnesota to give away just to move up six spots with the Chargers, and Yates could be overestimating the cost of that deal. So it could be the 2025 first-rounder, off the table at No. 5, for which the Patriots are aiming. Or, maybe they just want an extra Day-2 pick and think there’s more to get before negotiations are complete.
