B
Minnesota Vikings
Grand theft in the 164th overall pick: the Vikings steal Hicks and grade out a B.
by DSchully ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 0 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Jaden Hicks had no business being available in the Round 5 slot, and the Vikings did the only sane thing and turned in the card.
The offensive lineman spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. They went 4 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
Stockpiling next year's capital is patient, if unglamorous, asset work. The weekend tilted hard toward the defense.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
Bralen Trice at the Round 1 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
No edge and no loss on J.J. McCarthy in No. 42; it is a wash and a sensible one. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Fair-plus on Donovan Edwards, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Nothing to complain about; Cam Hart went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They paid sticker price for Cedric Johnson in the 148th pick, and that is fine. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A tidy little value on Keith Randolph Jr. in slot 163, a step better than break-even. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A top-tier safety at a bargain, Jaden Hicks in Round 5, Pick 28, plain and simple. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Chau Smith-Wade slid further than he should have, and pick No. 179 is lovely value for the cornerback. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
A quiet steal in slot 230: Omar Speights for less than the market said. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.