D
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings found their guy under center in McCarthy: D.
by BYEBYE JJ HELLO JJ ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 4 steals
· 4 reaches
Some picks age like wine; Michael Barrett at slot 157 will need to, sitting 32 spots clear of his grade. Too much went sideways, and the D is the honest tally.
So much rides on J.J. McCarthy that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him. The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. They will regret leaving interior defensive lineman for another day if the season turns on it.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took McConkey.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, interior defensive lineman very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 11th pick they get a passer to set the clock by, though the board says they badly overpaid. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the Round 1 slot they get a problem off the edge, though they paid up to get him. The biggest hole, addressed.
Ladd McConkey at Round 2, Pick 18 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Value with a capital V on Brandon Dorlus in pick 79, a genuine coup. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Good price on Christian Mahogany in slot 85, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A tidy bit of business in the 112th overall pick, where Blake Fisher graded well above the range. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The board had Jaden Hicks higher than No. 120, and the safety fell to them anyway. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They reached into another round for Michael Barrett, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A clean, defensible pick in the 166th pick with a little surplus value in Jaylen Wright. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Trey Knox in Round 6, Pick 12 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They paid a round early for Omar Speights in the Round 6 slot, more than the board wanted. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.