National Football League

2024 NFL Draft odds: Minnesota Vikings favored to draft QB J.J. McCarthy

Published Mar. 21, 2024 9:40 a.m. ET

Who will start under center for the Minnesota Vikings next season is a mystery to the NFL world.

Kirk Cousins, who spent the past six seasons in Minnesota, took his talents to Atlanta this offseason, leaving a void at quarterback for the Vikings.

Since then, Minnesota has already made moves in the NFL Draft, most presume to select one of the top QBs.

Currently, Minnesota owns the No. 11 and No. 23 picks in April's draft after completing a trade with Houston last week.

Could it package those two selections to move up closer to the top of the draft?

Here are the odds for which QB the Vikings select, via DraftKings Sportsbook:

QUARTERBACK SELECTED BY VIKINGS: *

J.J. McCarthy: -130 (bet $10 to win $17.69 total)
Bo Nix: +200 (bet $10 to win $30 total)
Michael Penix Jr.: +250 (bet $10 to win $35 total)
Jayden Daniels: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Caleb Williams: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)

*Odds as of 3/21

Why JJ McCarthy will be a Top 10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft

McCarthy is the current favorite to be drafted by Minnesota.

It's not written in stone that the Vikings will select a quarterback, but as of Tuesday, their quarterback room is made up of Sam Darnold, Jaren Hall and Nick Mullens. Minnesota signed the veteran Darnold to a one-year, $10 million deal just over a week ago.

In FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt's latest mock draft, he anticipates the Vikings acquiring the fifth pick via a trade with the Los Angeles Chargers — a team that doesn't need a quarterback — and selecting Michigan's McCarthy.

"There's some speculation that the Vikings are going to trade into the top three after their move to get a second first-round pick," Klatt wrote. "But all three of those teams need a starting quarterback, and with how far back the Vikings' original pick is, you might not be guaranteed to get the fourth quarterback in this draft.

"So, this is the spot the Vikings trade up to. The Chargers seem to be rebuilding somewhat, and while they need receivers, we know Jim Harbaugh wins in a specific way, which isn't wide receiver-centric."

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