B+
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: B+.
by b1g ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 5 steals
· 3 reaches
They will call it conviction in the building and a reach everywhere else: Jordan Travis, 52 picks early at Round 4, Pick 29. They moved the roster forward and banked a B+ for it.
They banked enough surplus on Devonshire to cover a lot of smaller sins. The phones were where this weekend was really won.
That tight end hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. The Vikings clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the tight end spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
A market-rate edge rusher, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Dallas Turner. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
No drama and no debate, Adonai Mitchell went about where he belonged in Round 2, Pick 1. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Ruke Orhorhoro in pick No. 65 lands just on the right side of the ledger. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Dominick Puni at the 76th overall pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Tommy Eichenberg well ahead of where he belonged. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Will Shipley at the Round 4 slot nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A real head-scratcher, Jordan Travis in the Round 4 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A tidy little value on Caedan Wallace in Round 5, Pick 6, a step better than break-even. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A slide stopped in pick No. 147, with Nehemiah Pritchett worth more than the price. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Tykee Smith at No. 157 is the proof. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A quiet steal in slot 167: Mason McCormick for less than the market said. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Marist Liufau in the 180th overall pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Bub Means at the 230th pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Taking M.J. Devonshire in pick 232 is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. Stacking talent where they were already deep.