The first two trades of the 2024 NFL Draft had a common theme. In short, the Minnesota Vikings were not willing to stay pat.
The Vikings swapped spots with the New York Jets from No. 11 to No. 10 to take Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy on Thursday night in Detroit.
Less than an hour later, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was at it again, trading up with the Jacksonville Jaguars from No. 23 to No. 17 to take Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner.
With their eyes on a quarterback, the Vikings sent New York a fourth-rounder (No. 129 overall) and a fifth-rounder (No. 157) while receiving a sixth-rounder (No. 203) from the Jets in the deal, rather than wait one more pick and risk another team jumping them.
McCarthy was the fifth quarterback off the board, following Caleb Williams (Chicago), Jayden Daniels (Washington), Drake Maye (New England) and Michael Penix Jr. (Atlanta) at Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 8, respectively. Moments later, the Denver Broncos took Oregon quarterback Bo Nix at No. 12 for an unprecedented glut of QBs in the first 12 picks.
McCarthy helped guide Michigan to a national championship in 2023 by passing for 2,991 yards, 22 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He added three touchdowns on the ground.
The Vikings bade farewell to Kirk Cousins this offseason and entered the draft with Sam Darnold, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall on the QB depth chart.
With the 11th pick, the Jets drafted Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu.
In the latter trade, the Vikings sent the Jaguars a fifth-round pick (No. 167) and third- and fourth-rounders in the 2025 draft in addition to the 23rd selection to move up six spots.
Turner had 11 sacks for the Crimson Tide in 2023 and finished his three-year college career with 22.5 sacks and 32.5 tackles for loss.
With the No. 23 pick acquired from the Vikings, the Jaguars — who needed a wide receiver after losing Calvin Ridley in free agency — snagged LSU wideout Brian Thomas Jr.
The Detroit Lions, who hosted the draft, moved up from No. 29 to No. 24 in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys and shored up their secondary with Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold. The Lions also received a 2025 seventh-rounder from the Cowboys and sent the 29th and 73rd overall picks this year to Dallas. With the No. 29 pick, the Cowboys chose Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton.
The two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs weren’t resting on their laurels, trading up from No. 32 to No. 28 to take Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who ran the fastest 40-yard dash (4.21 seconds) ever in the scouting combine.
The deal involved the Buffalo Bills, who also sent fourth- and seventh-round picks to the Chiefs in exchange for the No. 32 selection along with third- and seventh-round choices.
The Bills weren’t done dealing, sending the No. 32 pick and a sixth-rounder to the Carolina Panthers for the No. 33 choice and a fifth-rounder. With the final pick of the first round, the Panthers selected South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette.
