Vikings Trade Pitch Flips J.J. McCarthy to NFC Foe for Massive Return

The market for Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy is getting better by the day.

Teams outside the top two in the NFL draft have come to realize that if Minnesota is willing to part with McCarty, they can acquire a potentially better player for a lower pick than the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns are going to get via the Nos. 1 and 2 selections, respectively.

A prime candidate in this regard is the New York Giants, who beat the Indianapolis Colts in Week 17 and dropped from the top pick to No. 4 as a result, ultimately finishing with the third pick once the final regular season game ended last Sunday night.

Mel Kiper of ESPN laid out the situation the Vikings are facing on Thursday, January 9, as well as how/why it might make sense to move McCarthy for a first-round draft pick and a couple of other assets.

https://twitter.com/WBG84/status/1877355477912170973

[The Vikings] only having a first and two fifths, they may say, “Hey, if we can get three draft picks for J.J. McCarthy, maybe let’s do it” — assuming Sam Darnold plays really well in the playoffs.

That’s something if I’m the Vikings, I’m letting this all play out. Because you have a 27-year-old Sam Darnold [looking] really good for [Kevin] O’Connell. If he goes through the playoffs and plays really well, Sam Darnold’s your quarterback.

McCarthy is a year younger than Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders. He’s coming off the injury, but he’s a kid if you look at his grade last year compared to this year with the quarterbacks, he’d be the No. 1 guy. … He’d be certainly ahead of Cam and Shedeur.

J.J. McCarthy Arguably Better Value in Trade Than Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward as Draft Picks

GettyQuarterback J.J. McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.

The Giants dumped Daniel Jones mid-season after extending him on a $160 million contract just a year and a half before. Ironically, Jones is now a member of the Vikings’ roster and currently listed as the third-string quarterback behind Darnold and Nick Mullens with McCarthy sidelined by a knee injury.

McCarthy sustained that injury during his first preseason action in August, after which he underwent surgery and the Vikings shut him down for the year. As such, McCarthy has still never taken a regular season snap as a professional.

That shouldn’t matter to the Giants, as neither Sanders or Ward has ever taken an NFL snap that counted, either. Furthermore, McCarthy will be cheaper annually on a four-year, $22 million rookie deal as the 10th pick in 2024 than Sanders or Ward would be as the first or second pick in 2025.

J.J. McCarthy Will Cost Giants More Than No. 3 Pick

GettyNew York Giants head coach Brian Daboll. 

If the Giants are interested in McCarthy and the events of the next month lead the Vikings to shop him, he’s going to cost more than just New York’s third overall pick.

Adam Schefter of ESPN suggested recently that McCarthy is worth a first-round pick “and then some” in any trade, while Kiper mentioned “three picks” during his radio hit Thursday.

New York isn’t going to surrender a first and a second in the same draft with as much help as the team needs across the roster after a 3-14 campaign. However, the Giants also own the Nos. 65 and 104 overall picks in the third and fourth rounds, respectively.

If the team is desperate enough for a quarterback, which is how the situation reads currently, it isn’t unreasonable that Minnesota could pick up a first and a fourth, or maybe even a first and a third, from the Giants in exchange for McCarthy.