The Minnesota Vikings acquired an additional first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on Friday, swapping picks with the Houston Texans. Already there are indications the Vikings will be looking to use the ammo on a new quarterback, and one specific top prospect could be atop the team's wish list under center.
Word around the NFL is the Vikings have strong interest in North Carolina's Drake Maye, as CBS Sports senior NFL columnist Pete Prisco noted Friday. This echoes a previous report from The Athletic, which suggested Minnesota "adores" Maye among this year's consensus first-round quarterback prospects. There's also a built-in connection on the staff, with new quarterbacks coach Josh McCown once coaching Maye at Myers Park High School.
The only holdup to a potential Maye-Vikings team-up: The North Carolina product, who's drawn comparisons to former No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence, is widely expected to be a top-five selection in April. The Vikings currently own the No. 11 and No. 23 picks in the first round after acquiring the latter from Houston, so they'd likely need to package one or both of those picks in a trade up to have a shot at picking Maye.
Otherwise, it's possible the Vikings could target another prospect, such as Michigan's J.J. McCarthy or Washington's Michael Penix Jr., with one of their current first-round selections. Either way, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is widely expected to be in the market for a long-term option after letting six-year starter Kirk Cousins depart in free agency. Former San Francisco 49ers backup Sam Darnold is in place as an apparent fallback plan.
The 2024 NFL Draft will take place from April 25-27 in Detroit. Draft coverage can be found at CBSSports.com, including the weekly updated draft order, mock drafts and a regularly available look at the eligible prospects.
For more draft coverage, you can hear in-depth analysis twice a week on "With the First Pick" -- our year-round NFL Draft podcast with NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson and former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman. You can find "With the First Pick" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Listen to the latest episode below!
