The NFL draft is still a ways away and notoriously hard to predict, but the consensus right now is that quarterbacks Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels will be the top three picks on April 25th. If the Vikings can’t trade up into that top three, they’ll be left to consider the three second-tier QB options: J.J. McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr., and Bo Nix. McCarthy is a fascinating prospect whose profile is rather different from the other two. Penix and Nix are fifth or sixth-year seniors who will be 24 when their rookie seasons begin. They were both Heisman finalists last season after finishing first and second in the nation in passing yards (by a lot) on high-powered Pac-12 offenses. McCarthy, meanwhile, is a true junior who just turned 21. Operating Michigan’s run-heavy offense, he finished 35th in the country in passing yards with less than 3,000 in 15 games. To cap an undefeated season, McCarthy led his Wolverines team over Penix’s Washington Huskies in the national championship game.
The Vikings just spent last week watching Penix and Nix closely at the Senior Bowl. They’re also undoubtedly doing significant homework on McCarthy, who wasn’t in Mobile. The former four-star recruit from the Chicago suburbs has garnered massive praise from new Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, who once coached Andrew Luck at Stanford. McCarthy is rising during this draft process and seems to currently be viewed as the QB4 — ahead of Penix and Nix. A couple recent mock drafts from notable analysts have had McCarthy going 12th overall to the Broncos and 13th overall to the Raiders. The Vikings, of course, have the 11th pick. McCarthy’s lack of passing volume complicates his evaluation a bit, as scouts have a comparatively limited sample size to work with when watching his tape and forming opinions. He averaged just under 200 passing yards per game over the last two seasons, throwing 44 touchdown passes and nine interceptions (three of which strangely came in a September 2023 game against Bowling Green where he only attempted 13 passes). McCarthy shined in the national semifinals against Alabama — he went 17 of 27 for 223 yards, three touchdowns, and no picks in that win — but all he needed to do in the title game was complete ten passes for 140 yards, as Michigan ran for over 300 yards and four scores in their 34-13 victory.
