Vikings trade for first-round quarterback named among worst moves in last decade

The Minnesota Vikings went bold in the 2024 NFL Draft, trading up not once but twice in the first round. 

One of those moves earned the franchise the rights to draft J.J. McCarthy, a phenom prospect fans are hoping can carry their team for the next decade. 

Minnesota has an up-and-down history with first-round quarterbacks. Sam Darnold boomed for the team in 2024, helping the Vikings achieve one of the winningest seasons in franchise history. Fans were hopeful they had the guy in 2014 first-rounder Teddy Bridgewater, but his gruesome knee injury during training camp in 2016 sent then-GM Rick Spielman scrambling. 

Minnesota ultimately landed on a blockbuster trade with Philadelphia for former No. 1 overall draft pick Sam Bradford — a move Bleacher Report called one of the worst front office decisions of the past decade.

“The Vikings surrendered a 2017 first-round pick and a conditional 2018 fourth-round pick. That's a lot for an oft-injured player who clearly wasn't considered Philly's QB of the future. In return, Minnesota got 17 starts over two seasons out of Bradford,” analyst Kris Knox wrote. “Bradford did play some of the best ball of his career in 2016, posting a 99.3 QB rating and going 7-8 as a starter. However, he couldn't get Minnesota back to the postseason that year, and he played just two games the following year before undergoing season-ending knee surgery.”

Vikings fans know the rest of that story well — backup Case Keenum took the reins and wound up orchestrating one of the greatest singular moments in Vikings history, now coined the Minneapolis Miracle.

Vikings fans can take solace in this: The first round pick the Eagles got for Bradford turned into No. 14 overall. Philly selected defensive end Derek Barnett, who after a solid rookie season wound up being one of GM Howie Roseman’s more disappointing first-round selections. 

Minnesota’s in a much different spot now, with GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah inking a recent contract extension and the team ushering in a new era with McCarthy, the first-round QB tasked with getting this long-suffering franchise over the hump.