The New York Giants made a shocking trade for Minnesota Vikings quarterback and former 1st-round pick JJ McCarthy on Monday — 1 that doesn’t look very shocking on paper because the Giants only gave up a conditional 5th-round pick.
In the end, McCarthy might not even be worth what the Giants gave up for him.
Bleacher Report’s Joey Akeley put McCarthy on blast 1 day after the trade to the Giants, who are desperate for help after starter Jaxson Dart suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2 and backup Jameis Winston has looked less-than-stellar in 2 games.
Akeley put McCarthy at the top of his list of the NFL’s “Biggest Draft Mistakes” of the decade — he was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
“The Minnesota Vikings passed on quarterback Bo Nix (No. 12 pick) as well as tight end Brock Bowers (No. 13 pick),” Akeley wrote on September 29. “It wasn’t like McCarthy was a can’t-miss prospect at Michigan, so it’s fair to question why they didn’t either a) go with the more experienced Nix or b) solve their quarterback problem a different way and take the generational tight end in Bowers … if the Vikings can hit on a quarterback in the draft, they should be a perennial Super Bowl contender. Their best shot at one was this pick, and they missed.”
Giants Shake Up NFL With Move for McCarthy
The trade showed the Giants and new head coach John Harbaugh aren’t waiting on anyone — not even Dart — as they try to make a move off the NFL’s scrap heap and turn themselves into a playoff team.
“Trade! The Vikings are sending QB J.J. McCarthy to the Giants for a 2027 fifth-round pick,” NFL insider Tom Pelissero wrote on his official X account on Monday morning. “With Jaxson Dart out for the regular season, New York adds another young QB, while Minnesota gains flexibility and McCarthy gets a fresh start … By trading J.J. McCarthy now, the Vikings save over $4.6M in cash and cap space and get an unconditional fifth-round pick in the next draft that, depending how the Giants finish, could end up being a top-150 selection. Meanwhile, New York adds another former first-round pick QB.”
“Trade: Vikings are sending J.J. McCarthy to the New York Giants,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account.
Vikings: One Bad QB Decision for the Ages
After taking McCarthy in the 1st round, Minnesota went 14-3 in 2024 with Sam Darnold as the starting quarterback in 2024, and instead of bringing him back, they let him leave in free agency, where he signed a 3-year, $100 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks and led them to a Super Bowl win in his 1st season.
In their place, the Vikings decided to ride with 2024 1st-round pick (No. 10 overall) J.J. McCarthy, who couldn’t stay healthy and looked like 1 of the NFL’s worst quarterbacks when he was on the field.
All of that came after McCarthy spent his rookie season on injured reserve with a torn meniscus — the 1st time a 1st-round quarterback has missed his entire rookie season with an injury.
New Giants QB Called NFL’s ‘Biggest Draft Mistake’ of Last Decade