Minnesota Vikings first-round draft grades round-up: J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner

After the first round of the NFL draft, the mood at U.S. Bank Stadium was ecstatic around the Vikings landing J.J. McCarthy with the No. 10 pick and Dallas Turner at No. 17. But what did the national draft prognosticators think of the Vikings’ work?

Kiper doesn’t give grades, but he placed the Vikings in the “biggest winners” section of his Friday morning column:

“All along, McCarthy was linked to the Vikings. And all along, we thought they might have to give up their other first-round pick — No. 23 — to get him. Instead, though, they patiently waited. They traded up one spot with the Jets, got their guy and kept the No. 23 pick. That’s a huge win. ... Minnesota was able to use that pick at 23 to move up six spots to land Turner, my top-ranked edge rusher and the No. 9 player on my Big Board. While the franchise had to give up quite a bit — it also surrendered No. 167 and 2025 third- and fourth-rounders — Turner is a great player who fills a position of need. Like the Bears, the Vikings landed two players in my top 15. This is a really solid haul.”

The ESPN draft analysts didn’t provide grades either, but in their recap they made several observations about the Vikings’ picks.

Reid wrote that McCarthy going to Minnesota was his favorite quarterback landing spot:

“I think McCarthy really needed to go to a team that could slow-play his development, and in that sense, he couldn’t have landed in a better spot. With Sam Darnold able to start next season, Minnesota will be able to stay patient with its QB of the future. And the Vikings already have a full arsenal of playmakers to help McCarthy develop once he’s ready to take over as the full-time starter.”

Yates, on the other hand, thought McCarthy was more likely to get immediate playing time:

“McCarthy will become an instant starter in Minnesota, and the Vikings will finish with a winning record. Williams might be the rookie quarterback in the best situation, but McCarthy is also in a very good spot. With arguably the best receiver in the league to throw to in Justin Jefferson and a collection of very good skill players beyond that, McCarthy should post big-time numbers right away. And he’ll be well protected with a standout tackle duo.”

Meanwhile Miller and Reid felt that the decision to trade up for Turner was the best move of the night.

Miller: “The Vikings made two trades up the board in the first round, but I like the second move the most. Turner was my No. 7 overall player in the class, and Minnesota landed him at No. 17 before the run on defensive ends happened.”

Reid: “GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was aggressive in adding two players at spots of need Thursday. The Vikings desperately needed to come out of this draft with a QB of the future, and they did that with McCarthy. But the more surprising move came when the team traded up to get Turner, landing my top-ranked defensive player in the class.”

The Athletic grades extend up to the ecstatic A-plus range, which is worth mentioning since they gave both the McCarthy and Turner picks high marks:

McCarthy, A: “McCarthy’s skill set has had NFL evaluators on alert for three years, though his work inside Michigan’s run-heavy offense made it very difficult to totally project what he’ll be immediately in the NFL. A very tough, aggressive passer in the mold of his former coach (Harbaugh), McCarthy’s an unquestioned winner (63-3 record since high school).”

Turner, A: “Turner (6-2, 247) was a consensus first-team All-American last season after posting 11.0 sacks, 15.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. He solidified his first-round status with an impressive combine (4.46 40-yard dash, 40½-inch vertical, 34⅜-inch arms). He should replace Hunter quite nicely.”

The Vikings’ first average to slightly below average grades! The move to land McCarthy was given a B- while the move to land Turner got a B.

McCarthy, B-: “It’s fair to feel underwhelmed with McCarthy as the successor to Kirk Cousins. Not only is the signal-caller somewhat of a mystery box after his time at Michigan, he’s also not the drastic stylistic shift from Cousins that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah seemed intrigued by and that the team could have gotten from, say, Drake Maye.”

Turner, B: “Brian Flores, meet your new favorite weapon. Turner figures to be an absolute wrecking ball off the edge, and Flores should have plenty of fun figuring out how to best deploy him on blitzes. Acquiring No. 23 from the Texans and then moving up again to land Turner is questionable management of draft capital, but the edge rush looked due for another piece after swapping in Jonathan Greenard for Danielle Hunter this offseason.”

Another national outlet that doesn’t have a lot of love for the McCarthy pick but finds a lot to like about Turner.

McCarthy, C+: “They had to fill the quarterback spot, so it makes sense to take McCarthy. I don’t love him as much as others do, but it will be interesting to see how Kevin O’Connell and company will make it work.”

Turner, A: “Love this move to go get Turner. He will be the best edge player in this class. The Vikings have had a lot of success with edge players and he fits with what Brian Flores wants to do.”

PFF grades on a more abstract metric. They gave McCarthy’s pick a grade of average (which is not good) and the Turner pick a grade of good (which is good).

McCarthy, Average: “With Penix being drafted before McCarthy, Minnesota had to move up only one selection to get their quarterback competition for Sam Darnold. McCarthy has traits to work with and was excellent when Michigan needed him to make a play in third-and-long situations, but he wasn’t asked to carry the offense much at the college level. He does land in one of the league’s better situations for a rookie quarterback, as Minnesota has a solid offensive line and a talented receiving corps.”

Turner, Good: “The Vikings draft an explosive pass rusher in Dallas Turner, adding him to a unit that includes free-agent acquisitions Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel. Turner is an incredible athlete who is capable of rushing the passer from a two-point stance and dropping into coverage. He ranked among the top three edges in the SEC in pass-rush grade and pressures in 2023.”

We’re back to positive feelings at QB, as Bleacher Report loves the McCarthy pick, but is a little more muted on Turner.

McCarthy, A: “Kudos, Minnesota Vikings. They didn’t bite on all the rumor-mongering about McCarthy going much higher in the draft. Instead of moving their extra first-round pick to trade up into the top five, the Vikings flipped fourth- and fifth-round picks to move up one spot, while getting a sixth-rounder back. McCarthy moves into an awesome situation with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison at wide receiver as well as T.J. Hockenson at tight end. The 21-year-old will also get to work with head coach/offensive play-caller Kevin O’Connell and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown, both of whom played quarterback in the NFL.”

Turner, B: “The Vikings needed to move a fifth-round pick and a pair of 2025 middle-round picks to trade up, but they’re gaining an explosive edge to pair with the offseason additions of Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel. That should help them replace the production of Danielle Hunter and DJ Wonnum, both of whom left this offseason. Turner’s upside justifies the risk of giving up a few later-round picks.”

And last but not least, a traditional A- team grade for the Vikings’ overall first round.