Getty J.J. McCarthy #9 of the Michigan Wolverines.
The latest slight of the Minnesota Vikings came from Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, who implied he led an effort to outfox their management into trading up for quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
On Monday, April 29, McCarthy spoke with Paul Allen on @KFAN1003 and refuted the notion that Payton and the Broncos weren’t genuinely interested in drafting him. That notion is central to the claim Payton made just days before that Denver engaged in subterfuge and thereby baited Minnesota into the trade it made for the quarterback.
While the full interview between Allen and McCarthy is available via the link above, The Purple Persuasion X account clipped the relevant quote and posted it to social media Monday.
“Yes, I did think [there was a chance I would be a Bronco],” McCarthy said, per TPP. “You know, that was kind of my two spots that I really felt like, you know, I was gonna go after seeing the first six picks. And, you know, both great spots, but I’m extremely excited to stay in the Midwest and play for coach [Kevin] O’Connell.”
Vikings Still Won 1st Round of NFL Draft, Even if Payton Baited Them Into Unnecessary Trade With Jets
GettyHead coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos.
Payton’s original comments came on Thursday night, after his Broncos selected quarterback Bo Nix of Oregon with the 12th pick.
Sean Payton admits he baited Minnesota forcing them to trade up for JJ McCarthy
“I was actively involved in trying to pretend we were moving forward [in our pursuit of McCarthy],” Payton told reporters with a smile and a laugh.
The initial video of the 10-second clip came courtesy of the Denver Broncos 365 X account, which framed it with the following caption: “Sean Payton admits he baited Minnesota forcing them to trade up for J.J. McCarthy.”
Whatever baiting for which Payton and the Broncos were or weren’t responsible, the Vikings’ deal with the New York Jets to jump from No. 11 to No. 10 ended up costing Minnesota a fourth-rounder and a fifth-rounder. In return, the team moved up one spot in the first round and got a sixth-round pick back from New York.
Lost in at least some of the controversy following Payton’s comments to the media Thursday is the fact that multiple prominent draft analysts predicted the Vikings would need to trade pick Nos. 11 and 23 this year along with a 2025 first-rounder to deal into the top five if they wanted McCarthy.
Instead, Minnesota held onto its first-round selection next year as well as the No. 23 pick, which it eventually used as the centerpiece of a trade to move up to No. 17 and draft edge rusher Dallas Turner of Alabama.
Drafting Dallas Turner, Keeping 2025 1st-Round Pick Are Both Victories for Minnesota
GettyMinnesota Vikings edge rusher Dallas Turner.
Perhaps McCarthy got the wrong vibe from Payton and the Broncos, or perhaps he got a false vibe they were trying to send him.
Or, maybe Denver was just trying to cover their tracks after failing to trade up for either Drake Maye or McCarthy. Missing out on those two players, as well as Michael Penix Jr. who the Atlanta Falcons selected 8th overall, left the Broncos with no other choice but to select Nix at No. 12.
No one other than Payton and other top members of the Denver leadership will ever truly know, rendering the rest of the conversation around the topic pure speculation from now until the end of time.
The more important information, which also happens to be factual, is that Minnesota landed a champion QB to whom analysts had linked the team for months, and did so at a much less expensive price than those analysts expected. That result allowed the Vikings to add a legitimate replacement for Danielle Hunter on the edge of the defense in Turner and also kept next year’s first-rounder in house to add more talent to the roster.
However Payton, or anyone else, wants to slice it, those are all huge wins for Minnesota.