C+
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings found their guy under center in McCarthy: C+.
by cw ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 1 steals
· 4 reaches
After circling the position for what felt like forever, the Vikings committed. J.J. McCarthy is the quarterback now, and the roster gets built to his timeline. It nets out a thoroughly average C+.
If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher. Reaching for McCarthy left real value on the table behind him.
With edge rusher, running back and other spots unsolved, spending premium capital on cornerback is the choice that costs them. Greenfield at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster.
If J.J. McCarthy and a couple of the gambles land, hindsight will be kinder than this grade.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 4 they get the face of the franchise, though the board says they badly overpaid. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Khyree Jackson at the Round 3 slot is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A minor itch, scratched.
They jumped the gun on Leonard Taylor III, taking him earlier than his grade liked. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Cole Bishop in Round 4, Pick 8 lands just on the right side of the ledger. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went cornerback with Josh Newton while clear needs at edge rusher, running back and other spots sat open.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Hunter Nourzad. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They liked Jordan Jefferson enough to skip the value, taking him in the 167th overall pick. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Cornelius Johnson in No. 177 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. The roster fit checks out.
The board had Garret Greenfield higher than slot 232, and the offensive lineman fell to them anyway. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.