D
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings finally solved quarterback, and it carried them to a D.
by StankFart8 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 5 steals
· 2 reaches
When the story of this class is written, it opens with Xavier Thomas at pick 129, a reach of 33 spots that the board flatly disagrees with. Put together, it is a D.
They have staked the next five years on Bo Nix, which is the only story that really matters here. They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. Torrence falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
The tight end spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and tight end is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 3 they get a difference-maker at receiver. A clean fit for the roster.
In the Round 1 slot they get the arm they will build around at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
By-the-book stuff, Ladd McConkey at the 34th pick squarely in line with his ranking. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They let Christian Mahogany come to them and pounced at pick 108. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Value said wait; Xavier Thomas in the 129th overall pick says they were not listening. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A premium they did not need to pay, Marist Liufau a notch or two before his time. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Kitan Oladapo is a better player than the Round 5 slot suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Dylan Laube at pick 177 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A need, and now a little less of one.
Taking Ro Torrence in the 230th pick is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Johnny Dixon at the 232nd overall pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.