Daily Norseman
Well, from most perspectives, anyway
Anyone that’s followed this site for any length of time knows that I, personally, am not a big fan of draft “grades” that come out before any of these players have even taken a snap. However, I also recognize that there are a lot of people out there that are, and so I’ve put together a quick roundup of some of the grades that the team has been given by some of the Really Smart Football People™ out there to get their initial thoughts on the Minnesota Vikings and what they did on Thursday night.
The Vikings moved up one spot to grab McCarthy, presumably to box out Denver and Las Vegas. He did not throw 40 times per game in Michigan’s run-heavy offense, but he has plenty of arm, excellent mobility and accuracy throwing to either side of the field. He can surprise with his open-field speed, and his ability to win games at the high school and collegiate level carries weight with NFL teams. While not a physical specimen, he is similarly built to C.J. Stroud and other quarterbacks recently drafted with top-10 picks. The Vikings made a pre-draft trade with the Texans to get a second first-round selection (23rd overall) and then moved up from that spot to nab Turner. His 4.46 40 turned heads at the combine, but he still fell, thanks to the rush for quarterbacks and likely also because of his average size for the position (6-2 3/4-inch, 247 pounds). He uses that low center of gravity and 34 3/8-inch arms to separate from blockers playing the run and long-arm them into the quarterback in pass-rush mode. He’s a very good value at 17, even though today’s trade ate away at the team’s mid-round capital, both this year and next. This draft is lean at edge rusher, and the Vikings decided to take a risk.
They had to fill the quarterback spot, so it makes sense to take McCarthy. I don’t love him as much as others do, but it will be interesting to see how Kevin O’Connell and company will make it work.
Love this move to go get Turner. He will be the best edge player in this class. The Vikings have had a lot of success with edge players and he fits with what Brian Flores wants to do.
What an offseason for the Vikings. After making a big pre-draft move, Minnesota was able to land a quarterback (and climb one spot) without surrendering its other first-round pick. (The Vikings sent Nos. 11, 129 and 157 to the Jets for this spot and No. 203.) All this mere months after Minnesota lost Cousins, its previous franchise QB.
McCarthy’s skill set has had NFL evaluators...
