J.J. McCarthy trade grades: Giants make desperate move as Vikings wave white flag

J.J. McCarthy is going to have give up "Nine" because it's already taken by Isaiah Likely on the New York Giants. As the Minnesota Vikings have clearly admitted to their errors in taking the former Michigan quarterback No. 10 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, a Giants team that watched a poor start from Jameis Winston after Jaxson Dart's season-ending injury decided to further beef up their quarterback room by trading for McCarthy, as reported by Adam Schefter, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo.

It may be a couple weeks later than we expected for McCarthy to get traded after Kyler Murray was named the starter and Carson Wentz was named the backup in Minnesota, but the trade has happened. And now it's time to dive into it.

J.J. McCarthy trade details: Vikings get Day 3 pick from the Giants

The Giants sent only a fifth-round pick to the Vikings in this trade, which speaks to just how low the opinion on McCarthy is throughout the league. For a former first-round pick still on his rookie contract and with only roughly half of a season as the starter, the thought was that he might be able to fetch Minnesota a fourth-rounder — or maybe even a third-round pick from the right desperate team.

But even with how desperate New York is, it's just a fifth-round pick. That's not something that should necessarily make Giants fans feel all that good about this trade, but at least they aren't having to give up any Top 100 selections in this deal while they get better depth at quarterback. As for Minnesota, they're clearly moving on into the future with Murray, though for how long remains to be seen.

As for this trade itself, though, are there any winners? Let's dive in as we grade the trade for both the Giants and Vikings.

Giants trade grade: J.J. McCarthy is a desperate option at QB

Trade Grade: C-

It only cost a fifth-round pick. That's the only reason that I'm not absolutely blasting the Giants for making this trade. There have also been reports that New York could add multiple quarterbacks via trade in the coming weeks, so this might not be the last move they make. At the same time, though, it's hard not to look at this and wonder how trading for J.J. McCarthy actually makes sense in the grand scheme of things in New York.

Sure, there is a Harbaugh familiarity that we've seen proliferate throughout the NFL over the years, and John's brother Jim surely spoke highly of McCarthy from their time together in Michigan. But nothing that we've seen from the former 10th overall pick to this point suggests that he's ready to come into an NFL game right now and be a serviceable starter. That's what the Giants need right now if they're bringing in quarterbacks with the idea being they'll replace Winston as the starter in Dart's absence.

That's the other part that makes this strange. Dart's injury does raise long-term concerns about his health and viability as a franchise guy for the Giants, there's no doubt. At the same time, though, when he's been on the field, he's proven that he's an option that can be one of the league's better signal-callers. Why would they then trade for a player whose best attribute is his age and the potential if he's developed? That just doesn't align.

Especially with the Giants sitting at 2-1, they should be looking for players who can upgrade from what Winston is providing and keep New York playoff-level competitive. That's not what McCarthy is at this point, and the only saving grace is the low cost of the trade.

Vikings trade grades: Minnesota admits defeat, even if a little too late

Trade Grade: B

This band-aid needed to be ripped off for a while now, and the Vikings undoubtedly deserve credit for finally pulling the trigger on trading McCarthy. The situation in Minnesota had devolved essentially beyond repair, and there were real questions about whether or not he would even make the 53-man roster after Murray usurped him for the starting job in their training camp battle.

It's obviously not ideal for the Vikings to have to admit that their former front office regime completely whiffed on a Top 10 pick at quarterback. That's never what you want to see when it comes to the use of draft capital, especially at the most important position on the roster when the assumption would be that they drafted him to be their franchise player. At the same time, there's something to be said for organizations recognizing failures and not belaboring the point when the outcome has become clear.

I'm not going to lie to you and say that getting a fifth-round pick is something truly meaningful for the Vikings. It is, however, the right order of business with a player they'd clearly given up on. I do wonder if they could've gotten better than a fifth-round pick from some other team around the league had they traded him prior to Week 1, but they got something for him, which, given the results on the field when he's been there, feels like a win for Minnesota.

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