The Minnesota Vikings have exercised the fifth-year option on standout offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. The No. 23 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft has earned a Pro Football Focus grade of at least 82.4 over the last two seasons and is widely viewed as at least an above-average player at the position. With rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy slated to take over the franchise at some point in the 2024 season, locking up key offensive linemen should be a priority. With this move, Darrisaw will be under contract with the Vikings through the 2025 campaign.

From RotoBaller

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.

From RotoBaller

The Minnesota Vikings are trading with the New York Jets from the No. 11 to the No. 10 spot in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Vikings get a 2024 first-round (No. 10) selection and a 2024 sixth-round pick, while the Jets receive a 2024 first-round pick (No. 11), 2024 fourth-round, and 2024 fifth-round pick. With the Vikings unable to deal with the New England Patriots to take Drake Maye, Minnesota selected Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Jets ended up taking Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu.

From RotoBaller

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.

From RotoBaller

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.

From RotoBaller

The Minnesota Vikings secured an additional first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft via a trade with the Houston Texans in March. The organization held the No. 11 overall pick after finishing 7-10 in 2023, and they sent a bundle of picks to acquire the No. 23 overall selection from Houston (via Cleveland Browns). Many believe the Vikings are trying to use their two picks to move into the range to select a quarterback, and NFL insider Peter Schrager projects the Titans to be that trade partner. Tennessee holds the No. 7 selection, which could put the Vikings in range to pick Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Schrager has the Vikings making that pick and the Titans landing Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt at pick 11. There are likely multiple avenues Minnesota can take if the speculation is current, but Tennessee could be willing to trade down since they do not have a third-round selection.

From RotoBaller

When asked by Rich Eisen if he has any idea on where he's going to end up in this week's NFL draft, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy hinted at the New York Giants, who currently own the No. 6 overall pick in the first round on Thursday night. "I have somewhat of an Idea, New York, #Giants, I've spent the most time with. They're a phenomenal staff," McCarthy said. The young QB's stock has been rising rapidly ever since his pro-day workout. Reports suggest the Giants and Vikings could be in a raise to trade up to select McCarthy, who is attractive because of his experience running a pro-style offense in college. With Daniel Jones (knee) coming off a torn ACL and with no guaranteed money owed to him beyond 2024, the G-Men have done their due diligence on QBs in this year's draft and feel like a lock to take one at some point this week.

From RotoBaller

The Athletic's Jeff Howe predicts that New York Giants will trade the sixth overall pick in this year's NFL draft and a 2025 second-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals in order to move up to fourth overall to take Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy on Thursday night. Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort is eager to trade down for a second straight year. If LSU's Jayden Daniels or North Carolina's Drake Maye remain available at No. 4, the Minnesota Vikings or Las Vegas Raiders would probably become more aggressive in pursuing the fourth overall pick. "I think there's going to be a race to McCarthy between the Giants and Vikings," a coach said. McCarthy doesn't have the upside that the top three QBs in this class do, but rival executives cited concerns with Giants current QB Daniel Jones' (knee) health after tearing his ACL and dealing with a neck injury in 2023.

From RotoBaller

Former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning recently talked with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy and said the Broncos are interested in him with the 2024 NFL draft beginning on Thursday night. "I know Denver is very interested in him and it sounded like a place he'd love to come to but it's a little bit out of his control," Manning told Denver Sports over the air. McCarthy played in a pro-style offense at Michigan and led the Wolverines to the national championship earlier this year. He wasn't allowed to throw the ball that much in college, but he really impressed at his pro day and has been rising up draft boards ever since. McCarthy is a candidate to go in the first five picks on Thursday night, although it seems unlikely that Denver has the ammunition to pull off a trade up into the top five this year to select McCarthy, especially after trading for Zach Wilson on Tuesday.

From RotoBaller

The New England Patriots had dinner with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy on Sunday night and are hosting him on a visit on Monday in Foxborough, according to a source. The Patriots own the No. 3 overall pick and previously hosted North Carolina's Drake Maye and LSU's Jayden Daniels. It's no surprise that the Pats are doing their due diligence on this year's top quarterbacks not named Caleb Williams, who is expected to be taken first overall by the Chicago Bears. McCarthy's draft stock has soared since his impressive pro day, and it seems more likely that he'll now be taken within the top-10 selections later this month. New England continues to try and figure out the QB position since Tom Brady left, as the Mac Jones experiment clearly didn't work out. The Patriots traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason.

From RotoBaller

With quarterback Kirk Cousins now with the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell needs a new QB to utilize a talented group of receivers, and The Athletic's Bruce Feldman is hearing the Vikes are very interested in Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy, who went 27-1 as the Wolverines starter and led the team to the national title last year. Feldman is even suggesting the Vikings could trade all the way up to No. 4 overall with the Arizona Cardinals to take McCarthy in this year's NFL draft. The 21-year-old didn't put up the gaudy stats that the high-end names in this year's draft did, but he has honed pro-style footwork and threw 44 touchdowns to only nine picks in two seasons as the starter. McCarthy can also run, going for nine TDs and more than 500 yards on the ground. Landing in Minnesota would probably give him the most short- and long-term fantasy upside.

From RotoBaller

The Washington Commanders could be leaning toward selecting former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, according to conversations NFL insider Tom Pelissero has had with executives around the league at the NFL's league meetings. North Carolina's Drake Maye and LSU's Jayden Daniels have seemingly been competing to be the next quarterback off the board after USC's Caleb Williams, but McCarthy has been getting more hype as the pre-draft process has gone on. All that said, there is no shortage of examples of quarterbacks being pushed up by the media, only to fall in the real NFL Draft. Last year, Will Levis was projected to be picked as high as No. 2 overall, and he ultimately fell to the Tennessee Titans at pick 33. McCarthy is seemingly a lock to be selected in the first round of next month's draft, but it would still be somewhat of a surprise if he overtakes both Maye and Daniels in draft position.

From RotoBaller

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy visited with the New York Giants last week, which included dinner with the front office and a tour of the team's facilities, according to sources. The Washington Commanders will fly out to Ann Arbor to have dinner with McCarthy on Thursday night, the night before his pro day workout, according to multiple sources. Although it would be a big surprise if the Commanders took McCarthy with the second overall pick in this year's NFL draft, they are doing their due diligence on him anyway. The Giants could be right in the wheelhouse at No. 6 overall to take McCarthy as the heir apparent for the struggling Daniel Jones, while the Minnesota Vikings (No. 11), Denver Broncos (No. 12) and Las Vegas Raiders (No. 13) are all candidates to trade into the top-10 picks to take McCarthy next month.

From RotoBaller

ESPN's Dan Graziano thinks NFL teams are higher on Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy than a lot of people on the outside think, and Graziano wouldn't be surprised to see McCarthy come off the board in April's NFL draft in the top 10. He came to the scouting combine in Indianapolis last week as one of the prospects with the most to gain, and while teams have their questions, he has intriguing traits and is ranked by ESPN as the No. 4 signal-caller in this year's class behind USC's Caleb Williams, North Carolina's Drake Maye, and LSU's Jayden Daniels. The consensus is that QBs will come off the board with the top three picks this year (Chicago, Washington and New England), but McCarthy could be an option for the Giants (No. 6) or Falcons (No. 8) or another team (Vikings, Raiders) that potentially trades up into the top 10 in the first round.

From RotoBaller