2024 Vikings Mock Draft: A new era begins in Minnesota

First-Round Pick (12th overall)

J.J. McCarthy - QB (Michigan)

Some of you may say that if the Vikings hold any pick inside the top 15, they will move up for Drake Maye or Caleb Williams, but I don't think they need to move up and lose future draft capital to land their franchise quarterback.

Insert the current Heisman favorite, Michigan quarterback J.J McCarthy. The word that has been associated with McCarthy the most is "efficient", and when you watch McCarthy on Saturdays, you see a young guy who is already comfortable in a pro-style system, but in a way, he is going through what Justin Herbert did at Oregon, where he hasn't shown everything he can do.

Although Michigan is a run-first offense, McCarthy has been one of the best quarterbacks in all of college football in 2023. McCarthy's game would be a perfect fit in Kevin O'Connell's play-action, pass-happy offense.


McCarthy will inherit, quite possibly, the best weapons any rookie first-round quarterback would inherit; the best receiver in football in Justin Jefferson, the best rookie receiver in 2023 in Jordan Addison, a top-five tight end in T.J. Hockenson, and one of the best offensive lines in football.

Expect McCarthy to start from day one in 2024 if Kirk Cousins isn't brought back.