B+
Minnesota Vikings
A masterclass at the trade table lands the Vikings a B+.
by kgrundseth ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 3 steals
· 3 reaches
The Vikings ran the phones like sharks, prying loose value on deal after deal until the ledger was lopsided. Good, not great, and the B+ says as much.
Nourzad has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. A whole weekend of picks and quarterback is somehow still a want. With quarterback and interior defensive lineman unsolved, spending premium capital on cornerback is the choice that costs them.
The Green pick alone nudges the whole weekend up a notch.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the quarterback spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 24 they get an island corner, and a steal at that. Need was not the driver here.
Bralen Trice at the Round 2 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Chris Braswell in the 56th overall pick is fair value, right on his grade. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A reach for Brenden Rice in slot 57; a little patience would have been rewarded. It fills a real need, too.
They paid sticker price for Zak Zinter in Round 3, Pick 25, and that is fine. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They bypassed pressing needs at quarterback and interior defensive lineman to take Caelen Carson, a cornerback that was not the priority.
Good price on Dominick Puni in pick 109, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Cedric Gray at the 130th pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A minor need, but a need all the same.
No edge and no loss on Javion Cohen in the 145th pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jaylen Wright in slot 157 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A tidy bit of business in No. 166, where Renardo Green graded well above the range. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They liked Trey Knox enough to skip the value, taking him in pick No. 179. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Hunter Nourzad well ahead of where he belonged. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.