B-
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings bet the future on McCarthy. The board says B-.
by - ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 5 steals
· 1 reaches
The Vikings spent the pick that matters most on J.J. McCarthy, and a roster that has been waiting on a passer can start to take shape. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B-.
The Foster pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. It is not that Jones is a bad player; it is that the Vikings had louder needs to answer first.
The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. The cost of the McCarthy reach is exactly the players who went right after him.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get the face of the franchise, a steep price for the projection. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the 23rd pick they get a lockdown presence outside at fair value. More want than need.
Braelon Allen at pick 108 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The roster fit checks out.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending slot 129 on Elijah Jones with edge rusher unsolved.
Somehow Javon Foster was still sitting there in pick No. 157, and they pounced on premier offensive lineman value. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Value with a capital V on Kitan Oladapo in No. 167, a genuine coup. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
No drama and no debate, Jha'Quan Jackson went about where he belonged in the 177th overall pick. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Gabe Hall in Round 7, Pick 10. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Jared Wiley at pick 232 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.