C+
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings landed square in the muddy middle: C+.
by skol vikes ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 2 steals
· 8 reaches
The Vikings torched the value chart for Malik Washington, taking him 50 spots sooner than anyone had him slotted.
They punted on safety, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. That Sweat pick is the receipt they will wave around later. The trade work was a quiet net positive.
They are betting the present roster is worth a lighter draft next spring.
Hit on Jared Verse and the swing picks, and this ages a lot better than it grades today.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 11 they get a problem off the edge. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In slot 20 they get a potential shutdown corner at fair value. More want than need.
Leonard Taylor III at the 42nd overall pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing T'Vondre Sweat in Round 3, Pick 2. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
By-the-book stuff, TreVeyon Henderson at the 84th pick squarely in line with his ranking. The roster fit checks out.
A big swing on Malik Washington at No. 108, well ahead of any board in the building. A need, and now a little less of one.
They went early on Jordan Travis in pick 128, and the value did not follow. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They paid a round early for Javion Cohen in slot 133, more than the board wanted. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Fair-plus on Jaylin Simpson, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
A premium they did not need to pay, Justin Eboigbe a notch or two before his time. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A reach for AJ Barner in Round 5, Pick 39; a little patience would have been rewarded. It fills a real need, too.
The board had cheaper options than Michael Barrett at the 179th pick, and it noticed. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Roger Rosengarten at No. 188 is a conviction pick that outran the value. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
DeWayne Carter at the 197th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Jordan Magee is a better player than the 225th overall pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Collin Schlee at pick 227 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.