Report: Vikings 'doing work' on QBs Jayden Daniels, J.J. McCarthy
After Monday night's debacle the Vikings fans' focal point once again turned towards the future of the team's quarterback position. The answer could be coming in the first round of the upcoming NFL Draft.
With a stacked QB class, teams across the league have been putting in months of homework on a plethora of talented signal callers. The Vikings are among those teams intensely studying, according to KSTP's Darren Wolfson, who thinks the Vikings will "draft a quarterback high."
"The amount of work they are doing on these quarterbacks, I will be surprised if they don't go quarterback high," Wolfson said during an appearance on SKOR North's Mackey & Judd show Tuesday.
Two quarterbacks are of particular interest to the Vikings at this point, according to Wolfson, are Michigan's J.J. McCarthy and LSU's Jayden Daniels.
"[Jayden Daniels] is a guy the Vikings are doing work on," Wolfson explained. "I just think J.J. McCarthy, maybe it's the Jim Harbaugh-Kwesi Adofo-Mensah connection...the Vikings are doing a lot of work on McCarthy."
McCarthy has led No. 2 Michigan to an 12-0 record. Daniels has had a rocket strapped to his back as he's set the world on fire with record-setting performances to cement himself in the Heisman race.
Daniels is a dual-threat senior who has passed for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions while rushing for another 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.
Nov 25, 2023; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) during warmups before the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Tiger Stadium.
Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
McCarthy has completed 74% of his passes while throwing for 2,483 yards, 19 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Where McCarthy really shines is in the play-action game where he's among the best in the country, completing 81% of his play-action attempts.
Kevin O'Connell's offense in Minnesota has attempted the most play-action passes in the NFL this season (125), so a strong ability to perform in that style of offense is a nod in McCarthy's favor.
If the draft were today, the Vikings would have the 20th overall pick, which is right in the range of where the consensus mock draft (an ensemble of mock drafts averaged into one mock draft) has McCarthy and Daniels going.
The most popular picks in mock drafts for picks 18-20 over the past two weeks
Over the last two weeks McCarthy and Daniels have been the most popular selections for picks 18 & 19, according to NFL Mock Draft Database. Washington's Michael Penix Jr. is the most popular selection for the 20th pick.
USC's Caleb Williams is the No. 1 pick in the mock draft database and North Carolina's Drake Maye is the third overall pick. Oregon quarterback Bo Nix is projected 11th overall.
