B
Minnesota Vikings
A solid, sensible weekend for the Vikings: B.
by wbwychor ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 2 steals
· 8 reaches
You can usually follow a front office's logic. This one is harder. The Vikings spent pick No. 48 on Ennis Rakestraw Jr. while quarterback, safety and other spots sat unaddressed. The bottom line is a respectable B.
Leaving quarterback unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. They are betting Randolph Jr. proves the room right and everyone else wrong.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 27th overall pick they get an island corner at a price that makes it sweeter. More want than need.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Ennis Rakestraw Jr. at cornerback with quarterback, safety and other spots open.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose cornerback. Max Melton in slot 96 leaves quarterback, safety and other spots for later.
They took Justin Eboigbe at par in pick No. 118, which is nothing to complain about. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Keith Randolph Jr. in Round 4, Pick 30 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Fair-plus on Cedric Gray, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Cedric Johnson at No. 148 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A straight-up fair deal on Austin Booker at the Round 5 slot, value and slot in agreement. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Zion Tupuola-Fetui at pick 155 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They jumped the gun on Brennan Jackson, taking him earlier than his grade liked. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Isaiah Davis in the Round 5 slot, miles early. The roster fit checks out.
Grayson Murphy in pick No. 165 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They paid up for JD Bertrand at No. 179 when waiting would have done the job. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Trevor Keegan at pick 211 is a conviction pick that outran the value. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A market-rate linebacker, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Nathaniel Watson. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
They went early on Tatum Bethune in slot 236, and the value did not follow. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.