Trading up from No. 11 to No. 3 is probably going to cost the Minnesota Vikings both first-round picks this year and next year’s first-round selection, and if they are able to work out a deal with the New England Patriots they’re probably going to be drafting Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy or Jayden Daniels.
Chris Simms, the former NFL quarterback who now works as an analyst for the NFL on NBC, unveiled his mock draft Monday and predicted the Vikings to move up to No. 3 to take McCarthy. He then has Maye falling all the way to No. 11, right into the lap of the Patriots.
“There’s no inside info here for this one,” Simms explained on his podcast.
“I had the Vikings making the trade with the New England Patriots. Not that I know this either, but from people around the league…I think New England wants to trade out of there,” Simms said. “I think Minnesota’s desperate. They’re going to get somebody in there that they feel like can run their offense and be the future for Kevin O’Connell. I have no inside info on J.J. McCarthy here.”
Mock Draft time.
What we think will happen, with some trades mixed in. Podcast with @ConnorJRogers is up pic.twitter.com/Lr43EhGHJS— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) April 22, 2024
Why is Simms predicting McCarthy over Maye? Because he thinks McCarthy is a better fit in O’Connell’s offensive system.
“I don’t know if I’m right here, but I certainly think J.J. McCarthy fits Kevin O’Connell’s offense. Underneath center, J.J.’s going to be very comfortable with that. Play-action game, crossers over the middle, all that stuff. That’s what J.J. did at Michigan so I’m kind of going off of that system fit,” he said.
Another reason he’s going with McCarthy over Maye? Because of what he gleaned from O’Connell’s viral response in church when a person asked him his thoughts on moving up in the draft for a quarterback. Here’s the comment from O’Connell that perked Simms’ ears.
“I do very much believe in certain principles of playing the quarterback position,” O’Connell said. “I believe the footwork in the lower half of any quarterback can be fixed with the proper coaching and teaching, and I think that when you see good things on tape, you see things that they can do better on tape, you’re looking for a lot of different things and to check a lot of boxes.”
Simms took that answer from O’Connell as one to suggest that the Vikings coach isn’t interested in coaching up a quarterback whose feet and throwing have fundamental flaws, which is supposedly the case with Maye.
“To me, Drake Maye’s got both of those problems,” Simms said. “There’s lower-body problems and upper-body problems. I know some took that like Kevin O’Connell thinks he can fix Drake Maye. I heard the part where he says there might be things that happen for 15 years and I can’t fix them, and that to me is what made my ears go and that sounds like Drake Maye.”
