Grading an analyst's projected Vikings-Cardinals trade for J.J. McCarthy

The Arizona Cardinals may love the idea of taking Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the No. 4 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, teams like the Minnesota Vikings picking at No. 11 are desperate for a franchise quarterback of the future. The apple of everyone's eye throughout the draft process has been none other than Michigan's star quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

In Lance Zierlein's latest NFL mock draft for NFL.com, he runs through the first round, giving the reader quite a peak behind the curtains as to what could happen. He has a slew of trades inside the top 32, including the Cardinals moving around the draft board twice. Keep in mind that the Cardinals have the Houston Texans' pick at No. 27 from letting them move up to get Will Anderson Jr. last year.

Here is what Zierlein is proposing in a trade offer to get the Vikings up to No. 4 in a deal with Arizona.

The genesis of the trade makes sense, but I would have asked for the Cardinals' No. 71 overall pick this year in the third round to make the money work out slightly better. That is my only major gripe.

Let's unpack what becomes of this trade Zierlein proposed and where it ultimately goes from there...

Examining Lance Zierlein's draft trade between Vikings and Cardinals

For Minnesota, I get the allure of McCarthy, I really do. Since it may not be all that feasible to get inside of the top three, it is justified to move up seven spots to got get your guy. I attest that whatever quarterback the Vikings take will be set up in a position to succeed, given who their head coach is. Kevin O'Connell knows exactly what he is doing, but I cannot say the same for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah...

While I understand the importance of moving up to get your guy, I would have tried harder to get the Cardinals' third-round pick at No. 71 to sweeten the deal. By making this trade, Arizona already has three first-round picks in 2024 (No. 11, No. 23 and No. 27). This is not a loaded roster by any means, but they may not have enough vacant roster spots to justify the money of so many top-100 picks.

Even though I think Minnesota could have gotten more, I absolutely loved what Zierlein had the Cardinals doing with their new three first-round selections. He had Arizona taking Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner at No. 11 overall. I don't know why my Atlanta Falcons passed on him at No. 8, but I do respect the fact that it may be a matter or preference, as Raheem Morris may want Jared Verse.

Zierlein then has the Cardinals trading up from No. 23 to take LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. That is great value for arguably the No. 4 wide receiver in the draft. He may only be a No. 2, but adding him certainly makes up for moving out of position to draft Harrison out of Ohio State inside the top four. Zierlein finishes with Airzona taking Turner's Alabama teammate Kool-Aid McKinstry at No. 27.

Now that we have players attached to picks, do we like the idea of McCarthy to the Vikings more than we like the package of Turner and Thomas to the Cardinals? How do we factor McKinstry to Arizona in all this? While I don't hate McCarthy to the Vikings, again, I think Minnesota should have asked for that third-round pick because the Cardinals just made themselves exponentially better over one round.

Grade: Vikings A, Cardinals A+