A-
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings turned the phones into found money: A-.
by arott23 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 6 steals
· 0 reaches
The real work happened on the phones. The Vikings fleeced their trade partners, turning their picks into a noticeably bigger pile than they started with. This is how you run a draft, and the A- reflects it.
The Jones steal is the beam this whole class leans on. That wide receiver hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. The Vikings clearly valued win-now help, adding bodies who have done it before.
It is a bet on later, and a defensible one for a team playing the long game.
Add it up and few war rooms did better this weekend, Chris Braswell and all.
Pick-by-Pick
Chris Braswell at the 44th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They let Nate Wiggins come to them and pounced at slot 56. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
No edge and no loss on Cooper Beebe in pick 60; it is a wash and a sensible one. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Braelon Allen at Round 4, Pick 12 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the running back. It fills a real need, too.
A straight-up fair deal on James Williams at No. 138, value and slot in agreement. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They took DeWayne Carter at par in pick No. 149, which is nothing to complain about. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Shemar Turner at the 162nd overall pick is money in the bank, a edge rusher taken below his worth. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They paid sticker price for Malachi Moore in the Round 5 slot, and that is fine. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Joe Milton III in Round 6, Pick 4 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A market-rate edge rusher, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Tyler Batty. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Sheridan Jones in the 201st overall pick. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Value with a capital V on Marques Cox in slot 233, a genuine coup. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Deontae Lawson is a better player than pick No. 245 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.