C+
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings answered their biggest question with Daniels. Grade: C+.
by Pork12 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 40 picks
· 7 steals
· 17 reaches
After circling the position for what felt like forever, the Vikings committed. Jayden Daniels is the quarterback now, and the roster gets built to his timeline. Call it a C+ and check back in two years.
The Gargiulo pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over. The phones were where this weekend was really won. Jones falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
They are betting the present roster is worth a lighter draft next spring.
So much rides on Jayden Daniels that the real verdict is a season or two away.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 3 they get a home-run threat at receiver. A real need, handled.
They took Jayden Daniels at par in No. 4, which is nothing to complain about. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
In pick 11 they get a blindside protector at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In the 23rd overall pick they get a double-digit-sack hope. The biggest hole, addressed.
In the Round 1 slot they get a run-stuffing presence up front, though they paid up to get him. A clean fit for the roster.
In Round 1, Pick 31 they get a press-man option on the boundary. Need was not the driver here.
The board had cheaper options than Jonathon Brooks at pick No. 34, and it noticed. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
No edge and no loss on Ja'Tavion Sanders in the 35th pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A reach for Sedrick Van Pran in Round 2, Pick 31; a little patience would have been rewarded. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Zak Zinter. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Javon Bullard at the 68th overall pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
By-the-book stuff, Mike Sainristil at pick No. 71 squarely in line with his ranking. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Value said wait; Spencer Rattler in the Round 3 slot says they were not listening. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They paid sticker price for Audric Estime in slot 104, and that is fine. The roster fit checks out.
A tidy little value on Matt Goncalves in No. 108, a step better than break-even. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A straight-up fair deal on Sataoa Laumea at the 110th pick, value and slot in agreement. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Nice patience on Jarvis Brownlee Jr., who had no business lasting to pick 124. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
No drama and no debate, Christian Jones went about where he belonged in pick No. 129. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Nothing to complain about; James Williams went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Blake Fisher in the Round 4 slot. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jordan Jefferson in the 137th pick, miles early. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They talked themselves into AJ Barner at slot 138, and the board did not agree. A need, and now a little less of one.
Jarrian Jones in No. 157 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Jacob Cowing at the 162nd overall pick is money in the bank, a wide receiver taken below his worth. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A premium they did not need to pay, Grayson Murphy a notch or two before his time. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Ty'Ron Hopper at the Round 6 slot is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Curtis Jacobs at No. 177 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Steele Chambers at pick No. 180 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
They reached into another round for Jaylan Ford, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Isaiah Williams in the 186th overall pick. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They reached a country mile for Nathaniel Watson at the 193rd pick, and the board is aghast. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
JD Bertrand in slot 211 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
A market-rate linebacker, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jordan Magee. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
They read the board right and Evan Williams was the payoff at the Round 7 slot. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
The board had Sheridan Jones higher than Round 7, Pick 10, and the cornerback fell to them anyway. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Nick Gargiulo at the 231st pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A wild overpay on Solomon Byrd in slot 232, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Eyabi Okie-Anoma in pick No. 251 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Khalid Duke at No. 253 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Sam Hartman at the 257th overall pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.