The Las Vegas Raiders now have an opening at head coach but that’s only one of the important positions they need to fill this offseason. Whoever the next head coach is, he’s going to need a quarterback.
With the Raiders falling to No. 6 in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, they may not be able to draft one of the top prospects. That could lead general manager Tom Telesco to explore his options around the league.
The Minnesota Vikings have a big decision to make this offseason. Sam Darnold played at a Pro Bowl level in 2024 but the two just used a first-round pick on J.J. McCarthy last offseason. Michael Ginnitti of Spotrac is predicting that the Vikings will re-sign Darnold and trade McCarthy
“The Vikings apply a $39M+ franchise tag on Sam Darnold, then trade J.J. McCarthy to the Las Vegas Raiders days before the NFL Draft. Darnold and the Vikings agree on a 4 year, $196M extension before the July 15 deadline that includes $110M guaranteed,” Ginnitti wrote in a Jan. 3 column.
A lot of this could hinge on how Darnold performs in the postseason. He had an incredible regular season but he’s never had a chance to show how he performs in the playoffs. If he doesn’t play well, the Vikings may prefer to franchise tag him and keep McCarthy behind him for one more year. The 2024 first-round pick is still only 21 years old so there’s no rush to get him on the field.
J.J. McCarthy Better Than QBs in 2025 Class?
McCarthy didn’t get as much hype last year in a loaded quarterback class. However, that doesn’t mean he’s not a high-end prospect.
Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward are considered the top quarterbacks in the 2025 draft class. According to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, McCarthy would have ranked ahead of both of them if he had been in this class.
“McCarthy would rank as the No. 1 quarterback if he were in the 2025 draft class, according to several executives and coaches who have evaluated Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders,” Howe reported in a Jan. 7 column.
McCarthy has good height at 6-foot-3 but is only 219 pounds and very lean. Despite that, he does have a good arm and helped lead Michigan to their first National Championship win since 1997.
How Much Would McCarthy Be Worth in a Trade?
The big concern with McCarthy is that he missed his entire rookie season with a torn meniscus. He’s too young to know if he’s going to be injury prone but he wasn’t able to put much on tape outside of a couple of preseason games.
That said, the Vikings would likely still want a first-round pick in return for McCarthy if they decide to trade him. They just recently used a first-round pick on him and nobody knows if he’s the real deal yet or not.
The Raiders would have to decide if they think McCarthy would be worth the No. 6 pick in the draft. He was the No. 10 pick last year so the Vikings would be getting a slight return on their investment while the Raiders would be getting their quarterback of the future. Telesco probably could’ve traded up for McCarthy last year but didn’t so it’s hard to imagine he’ll give up such a high draft pick for him now.
