Vikings' Top 2024 NFL Draft Targets
The Minnesota Vikings are widely regarded as the team that will make the biggest splash on the NFL draft trade market.
The Vikings have a clear quarterback need after Kirk Cousins' departure and they have two first-round picks to package together to get into the top five.
Michigan's J.J. McCarthy is the expected target for the Vikings, but they need to find a way to get into the top five first to make that happen.
Remaining at the No. 11 overall pick is still a possibility, but in that scenario, the Vikings would risk losing out on all the top quarterback prospects.
The worst-case scenario in the quarterback-or-bust approach would be to wait it out for Michael Penix Jr. or Bo Nix at No. 11, No. 23, or in a different spot because of a trade.
J.J. McCarthy
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McCarthy is the player linked with the Vikings most.
Bleacher Report's NFL scouting department believes he will be there at No. 11 for the Vikings to pick, but a handful of other NFL mock drafts have the Vikings trading up.
ESPN.com's Jordan Reid had the Vikings trading with Cousins' new employer, the Atlanta Falcons, to take McCarthy at No. 8.
ESPN.com's mock draft done by team beat writers had the Vikings moving up to No. 5 in a deal with the Los Angeles Chargers to land McCarthy.
The Vikings could trade into any spot from No. 3 to No. 10 to land their quarterback of the future.
Most mock drafts are in agreement that McCarthy would be the target of the trade and it all comes down to how much the Vikings are willing to offer to budge a team off their top-10 pick.
Bo Nix
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The Vikings need to have a backup plan in place in case they can't land McCarthy.
There is a strong possibility they can get into the top 10 for him, or land him at No. 11, but another team could jump the Vikings in the quarterback arms race with a stronger trade offer.
If McCarthy is unavailable, Bo Nix would be the best remaining quarterback available.
Nix is the No. 5 quarterback in the draft class, per B/R's NFL scouting department, but it feels like there is a drop off from the top three or four signal-callers to the rest of the prospects.
Nix comes to the NFL with a ton of experience from his time at Auburn and Oregon. That could be viewed as a good or bad thing by NFL franchises.
Some teams could believe Nix is too old to take over a starting job, or franchises may look at him as a far more polished option than the projects at the top of the draft class.
The Vikings could afford to trade back in the first round from No. 11 to land Nix, but they may also want to avoid risk and take him with their opening selection to ensure they have a quarterback to compete with Sam Darnold.
Jer'zhan Newton
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All of the talk about the Vikings involved a quarterback, but they do have other needs.
The Vikings could use some additions on the defensive line, which is where the No. 23 overall pick comes into play.
Illinois' Jer'Zhan Newton is projected to be a late-first-round pick in most mocks. B/R's NFL scouting department predicted he would go 27th to the Arizona Cardinals.
Newton could be chosen by the Vikings at No. 23 if they do not make a trade and Texas' Byron Murphy is off the board.
Murphy is the top interior defensive lineman in the draft class and may not fall to the Vikings because a handful of teams in front of the 23rd pick have interior needs.
Newton recorded 13 sacks over the last two seasons at Illinois. He had a career high 7.5 sacks in 2023.
He would add more pass-rushing pressure to the Vikings defense, but whether he will be considered or not by the franchise is all dependent on the quarterback hunt and if the No. 23 pick is used in a trade.
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