F
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings bet the future on Maye. The board says F.
by Mike the Vike ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 4 steals
· 4 reaches
The Vikings bet big and early on Drake Nugent, 51 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. Drake Maye gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits. They will regret leaving tight end for another day if the season turns on it.
That is a wide receiver worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly. They are betting the present roster is worth a lighter draft next spring.
In the end, a class that has to defy its grades just to matter.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 2 they get a passer to set the clock by. The biggest hole, addressed.
In slot 23 they get a weapon on the perimeter, even if it was a touch early. A clean fit for the roster.
They paid sticker price for Braden Fiske in pick No. 36, and that is fine. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A market-rate edge rusher, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Bralen Trice. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Christian Mahogany at Round 3, Pick 37 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Khyree Jackson at the Round 4 slot. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A premium they did not need to pay, Isaac Guerendo a notch or two before his time. A need, and now a little less of one.
A straight-up fair deal on Tommy Eichenberg at pick 139, value and slot in agreement. A minor itch, scratched.
Luke McCaffrey at No. 157 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the wide receiver. It fills a real need, too.
Tahj Washington at slot 200 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. The roster fit checks out.
Taking Dwight McGlothern in Round 6, Pick 28 is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Steal is underselling it; Dominique Hampton at the 204th pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jackson Sirmon well ahead of where he belonged. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Value said wait; Drake Nugent in the 232nd overall pick says they were not listening. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.