As the mock drafts pour in, the options for the Minnesota Vikings continue to grow. For CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso, Minnesota decided to take the next step in the rebuilding process in his latest mock draft.
At pick 11, Minnesota selected Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy to carry them into the next era of Vikings football.
The Vikings go with McCarthy, who has plus arm talent and athleticism, two things the quarterback spot has lacked in Minnesota during the productive Kirk Cousins era.
With the uncertainty around Cousins and his contract, hitting the reset button on a quarterback makes perfect sense. The question that comes into play is if McCarthy is ready to take on that role. McCarthy is known best for his 22-1 record as a starter for the Wolverines, but there are questions about how much his play contributed to the success.
Out of all the quarterbacks in this draft, McCarthy may be the most dependent upon the situation he ends up in. He has the athleticism and arm talent to be a good quarterback in the NFL, but he needs time to develop to become the best version of himself.
If he were to become a Viking, the best thing for him would be to sit behind a veteran quarterback. Whether that veteran is Cousins remains to be seen, but if Minnesota is spending top-tier draft capital on a quarterback who won’t be ready for another year, there’s a good chance that Cousins is looking elsewhere.
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