Minnesota Vikings fans gathered at The Fillmore in Minneapolis for a 2024 NFL Draft Party hosted by SKOR North on Thursday as the Minnesota Vikings selected their quarterback of the future, J.J. McCarthy, and edge rusher Dallas Turner.
Hosts Phil Mackey, Judd Zulgad and Declan Goff were joined by a crowd of roughly 1,000 fans in the downtown concert venue, revealing each pick to cheers or boos as each player came off the board.
The early speculation was that the Vikings would trade up for North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, who was one of if not the top-rated arm behind predictable first-overall pick, USC quarterback Caleb Williams.
But Maye went No. 3 overall to the New England Patriots, to groans from the assembled crowd.
The Vikings’ front office did reach out to New England, it’s been reported. But the Patriots were decided on Maye as their next man up to solve their own quarterback problems.
Once Maye was off the board, Vikings fans set their eyes on two other options: Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
The New York Giants have plenty of issues at quarterback and they had the No. 6 overall pick, surely they would take Michigan’s McCarthy? But no, Daniel Jones is still their guy, and they made that known in picking LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers, bluffing a quarterback draft pick in the process.
Vikings fans reacted about how you’d expect pick as Mackey revealed the Giants pick, before Zulgad broke out the flag.
The Atlanta Falcons may have had the most puzzling pick of the night. They recently signed former Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins in free agency to a four-year, $180 million dollar contract, but drafted Michael Penix, Jr. – a possible Vikings option – with the eighth-overall pick.
After Penix was drafted, the Vikings — at the 11th pick — needed the Chicago Bears (who already drafted Williams) and New York Jets to pass on McCarthy. The Bears drafted wide receiver Rome Odunze, with the Jets then trading their pick to the Vikings.
The reaction to the trade was chaos, as fans knew they got their man in the defending national champion.
“That’s our guy now, hope it works out,” crowd member David of Woodbury, told Bring Me The Sports.
“He’s not Maye but that was expected. This worked out in our favor for sure,” David’s friend, Brett, of St. Paul, added.
McCarthy will likely start the season as newly-acquired quarterback Sam Darnold as he learns the NFL and Vikings’ playbook his first season.
The Vikings followed that up with another shock by trading up from No. 23 to 17 with the Jacksonville Jaguars, taking one of the top defensive players in the draft, edge rusher Dallas Turner.
Here’s the reaction from the crowd at The Fillmore.
