B+
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings robbed the room for Rakestraw Jr.. Final grade: B+.
by kgrundseth ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 5 steals
· 3 reaches
Thirty-one other rooms let Ennis Rakestraw Jr. slide, and the Vikings were the ones holding the card at the Round 3 slot. Highway robbery. It does the job without flash, and the B+ reflects it.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. The cost of the Wright reach is exactly the players who went right after him.
In sum, a sensible class that nudges the roster the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 15 they get a load in the middle at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
Laiatu Latu in No. 42 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Jaylen Wright this early at the Round 2 slot. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Taking Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in the 86th pick is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Javon Baker at Round 4, Pick 9. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They liked Jordan Travis enough to skip the value, taking him in the 142nd overall pick. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They took AJ Barner at par in slot 156, which is nothing to complain about. It fills a real need, too.
A tidy bit of business in pick 166, where Malik Mustapha graded well above the range. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Mason McCormick at slot 190 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They paid up for Nathan Thomas at pick No. 199 when waiting would have done the job. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Trevin Wallace at pick 232 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.