The Minnesota Vikings were one of the winners of day one of the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Vikings selected J.J. McCarthy with the 10th-overall pick in the draft. After being linked to McCarthy in the top five, the Vikings decided to wait it out. Minnesota swapped picks with the New York Jets just to be safe and landed its guy.

The Vikings made another move in the first round, moving up from No. 23 to 17 to select Alabama edge Dallas Turner. Put those picks together and that is a great night from the Vikings.

Below, check out the new-look Vikings that will look to return to the postseason in 2024-25.

Vikings Projected Offensive Depth Chart

QB: J.J. McCarthy

RB: Aaron Jones

RB: Ty Chandler

WR1: Justin Jefferson

WR2: Jordan Addison

SWR: Brandon Powell

TE: T.J. Hockenson

LT: Christian Darrisaw

LG: Blake Brandel

C: Garrett Bradbury

RG: Ed Ingram

RT: Brian O’Neill

What Are The Expectations?

For the Vikings, the expectations likely remain the same as the years with Cousins. That is competing for a Wild Card spot and making the postseason.

On Thursday night, the Vikings got better on both sides of the ball. Turner is a new toy on the defensive side and Minnesota is hoping it founds its new franchise quarterback, which had to be done with the skill positions on the team.

McCarthy became one of the draft darlings in recent weeks. As the draft went on, Minnesota realized that it did to have to jump into the top five to get McCarthy. Instead, it just did a simple swap with New York and McCarthy is theirs. Now, it will be interesting to see what he does on the field.

McCarthy enters one of the best situations of any rookie quarterback. Kevin O’Connell is a great offensive mind at the helm. On the field, McCarthy will have the league’s best receiver in Justin Jefferson and one of the best tight ends in football T.J. Hockenson. Throw Jordan Addison into the mix and the pass catchers are elite in Minnesota.

In the backfield, the Vikings took advantage of the Green Bay Packers letting go of Aaron Jones. He signed a deal in free agency to bring another weapon to Minnesota.

McCarthy came with criticisms because of his workload at Michigan. The Wolverines relied on a strong defense and run game, which has become a theme for Jim Harbaugh. Regardless, McCarthy showed off mobility, accuracy, and plenty of arm strength. In interviews, he impressed with well-thought out and mature responses.

The Vikings, like they typically do, made a smart decision with McCarthy and held onto all future first-round picks in the process.