C+
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings found their guy under center in McCarthy: C+.
by jim ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 3 steals
· 2 reaches
They finally answered the question that shadows every other one. J.J. McCarthy is the Vikings' quarterback, full stop. Fine in stretches, shaky in others: a C+.
The Haynes value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through safety.
The McCaffrey pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over.
A perfectly average weekend, for better and for worse.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a load in the middle at fair value. A real need, handled.
In Round 1, Pick 23 they get their guy under center for the next decade. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They took Cooper DeJean at par in the 24th overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Christian Haynes in No. 108, plain and simple. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Luke McCaffrey well ahead of where he belonged. It fills a real need, too.
Jalyx Hunt in pick No. 136 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They paid sticker price for Dylan Laube in the 157th pick, and that is fine. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Kalen King at slot 167 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Garret Greenfield at pick 218 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and JD Bertrand at No. 230 is the proof. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
No edge and no loss on Edefuan Ulofoshio in pick No. 232; it is a wash and a sensible one. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
A tidy little value on Jalen Coker in slot 256, a step better than break-even. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Josh Wallace at the Round 7 slot nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.