B+
Minnesota Vikings
Nix is the plan now, and the Vikings grade out a B+.
by Steve ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 7 steals
· 1 reaches
After circling the position for what felt like forever, the Vikings committed. Bo Nix is the quarterback now, and the roster gets built to his timeline. They moved the roster forward and banked a B+ for it.
The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. They will answer for taking DT-EDGE early while tight end and interior defensive lineman went begging.
They banked enough surplus on Restrepo to cover a lot of smaller sins. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through tight end.
Good work on the whole, with tight end the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 12 they get the arm they will build around, reach and all. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A clean, defensible pick in Round 3, Pick 12 with a little surplus value in Adisa Isaac. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Maason Smith at DT-EDGE with tight end and interior defensive lineman open.
Steal is underselling it; Javon Bullard at pick No. 83 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Junior Colson at the 113th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Cam Hart at slot 131 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A minor itch, scratched.
Good price on Mike Sainristil in No. 141, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Fair-plus on Jaylin Simpson, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
They took LaDarius Henderson at par in No. 161, which is nothing to complain about. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jonah Monheim. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Value with a capital V on Cole Bishop in pick 164, a genuine coup. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Chau Smith-Wade slipping to the 179th pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
A tidy bit of business in pick No. 213, where Curtis Jacobs graded well above the range. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Sheridan Jones in slot 219 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Taking Isaiah Davis in Round 7, Pick 15 is close to grand larceny; a running back that good had no business lasting this long. A need, and now a little less of one.
They read the board right and Fentrell Cypress II was the payoff at the 240th overall pick. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
You do not let a wide receiver like Xavier Restrepo reach pick No. 245 and blink. They did not. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.