B+
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings fleeced the room on the phones and earned a B+.
by RB ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 1 steals
· 6 reaches
Give the war room a raise for the dealing alone. The Vikings came out ahead on every exchange that mattered, and it was not close. Good, not great, and the B+ says as much.
They punted on edge rusher, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. They will answer for taking DT-EDGE early while edge rusher and interior defensive lineman went begging. The Neal reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 16 they get a ballhawk on the outside. Need was not the driver here.
Xavier Worthy is a better player than the 44th pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They bypassed pressing needs at edge rusher and interior defensive lineman to take Maason Smith, a DT-EDGE that was not the priority.
Tommy Eichenberg in pick 112 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went linebacker with Junior Colson while clear needs at edge rusher and interior defensive lineman sat open.
They paid sticker price for Donovan Jackson in pick No. 127, and that is fine. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jordan Travis at the 149th overall pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Malachi Moore in the Round 5 slot is exactly on the number, no argument either way. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They jumped the gun on Ben Sinnott, taking him earlier than his grade liked. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Devin Neal in pick No. 179 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Walter Rouse. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.