A new Yahoo Sports NFL mock draft has the Minnesota Vikings trading up and selecting former North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye at No. 3 overall.
"My No. 1 player on my big board," NFL writer Nate Tice wrote in his mock draft coordinated with colleague Charles McDonald. "Maye has huge upside with his combination of traits and arm talent. He has a few kinks to iron out at the next level to achieve that elite ceiling, but ends up in the ideal situation to do so. Picturing Maye with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, (a hopefully healthy) T.J. Hockenson, a solid OL and [head coach] Kevin O'Connell dialing things up has me giddy."
The Vikings currently have two first-round picks after acquiring the No. 23 overall pick in a trade with the Houston Texans last week, which many suspect will be packaged with the No. 11 pick in a trade to move up several spots. Minnesota also recently lost quarterback Kirk Cousins to free agency and is behind several teams expected to take quarterbacks early.
Last month, NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah predicted the Vikings would trade up to the No. 4 overall to select former Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
The Vikings signed veteran quarterback Sam Darnold to a one-year deal, but could be focused on leveraging picks to trade up as the Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders and New England Patriots are all expected to be considering quarterbacks at the top-3 spots. Houston had previously traded up to No. 3 overall to select linebacker Will Anderson Jr. directly after taking quarterback C.J. Stroud -- the NFL Defensive and Offensive Rookies of the Year, respectively -- during the 2023 NFL Draft.
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