D-
Minnesota Vikings
Daniels is the Vikings' new face under center. Grade: D-.
by Crash99 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 1 steals
· 7 reaches
It is the swing that defines the weekend: Cedric Johnson in pick 166, a good 46 spots before the room expected him. Hard to defend, and the D- reflects that.
They handed away value on the phones that the picks cannot earn back. Jayden Daniels gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits.
The Solomon pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with tight end and interior defensive lineman still on the board. That tight end hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
Landing McCaffrey that late papers over a lot of smaller sins.
In short, the board sent warnings, and they will be hoping it was wrong.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 4 they get the face of the franchise. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the Round 1 slot they get a blindside protector at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A big swing on Mike Sainristil at pick No. 42, well ahead of any board in the building. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
James Williams at pick 83 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, Javon Solomon adds an OLB-EDGE and leaves tight end and interior defensive lineman untouched.
Matt Goncalves in the 109th pick is fair value, right on his grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Cedric Gray in pick No. 130. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
A curious use of pick 133. Tight end and interior defensive lineman needed the pick; a cornerback in Jaylin Simpson did not.
They reached into another round for Kendall Milton, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
No edge and no loss on Jordan Travis in the 158th pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Cedric Johnson in No. 166 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They talked themselves into Zion Tupuola-Fetui at the 172nd overall pick, and the board did not agree. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They read the board right and Luke McCaffrey was the payoff at Round 6, Pick 4. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Javontae Jean-Baptiste. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.