Can we glean anything from NFL Draft insider Todd McShay’s Tuesday appearance on Ryen Russillo’s podcast? He certainly had some interesting things to say about the Vikings, including reiterating his belief that Minnesota never would’ve made the pre-draft trade for Houston’s pick at No. 23 unless they had a good idea they would be trading up.
“You don’t make that trade unless you’ve already had serious, significant talks about moving up and what those parameters would look like,” McShay said.
The Vikings have reportedly held private workouts with Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix, but nothing yet has happened with Jayden Daniels. Could that be because the Vikings are convinced Washington is taking Daniels with the No. 2 pick? McShay seems to think everyone in the league is convinced Daniels will be the second pick after the Bears take Caleb Williams.
“Pick two is Jayden Daniels if you ask everyone in the league. Jayden Daniels is so clearly the No. 2 quarterback in this class,” McShay said. “The first tier of quarterbacks is Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. The second tier is Drake Maye based off of potential and the future. The third tier is J.J. McCarthy – and if he wasn’t a quarterback, he’s kind of mid to later (first round).”
McShay identifying what he believes are the quarterback tiers could be important.
“If you’re Minnesota, how much are you willing to give up … to go get a third-tier player if that’s J.J. McCarthy?” McShay said. “What teams are going to try to move up and how much are they willing to give up for what essentially is, not only the third or fourth quarterback in this class, but maybe the second or third tier of talent in this class” That’s my point.”
While McShay said the Giants “could try to move up a couple spots” from No. 6, he believes a real wild card in the first round is Denver. The Broncos hold the No. 12 pick and have often been connected to Nix.
“Bo Nix is, everyone you talk to in the league … everything is Bo Nix to Denver,” McShay said. “He fits with Sean Payton.”
But why Denver and Sean Payton? McShay says most people he talks to don’t have a first-round grade on Nix.
“There isn’t a person in the league,” McShay explained, “that have a first-round grade on Bo Nix.” He said “every conversation” he has with scouts, directors and general managers turns up the same conclusion: Nix is a backup.
At the end of the day, McShay thinks Williams, Daniels, Maye and McCarthy will all hear their names called within the first five or six picks. And he also referred to Penix Jr. as the “most polarizing” player in the draft.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of moves and it potentially could be different than most years,” he said.
