B+
Minnesota Vikings
Best value of the weekend goes to the Vikings for Walker: B+.
by kgrundseth ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 2 reaches
Somewhere a general manager is explaining how Devontez Walker got past him. The Vikings do not have to explain a thing at pick No. 109. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B+.
The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. The Eboigbe pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over. The offensive lineman hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
The Luke Fortner deal gives the class an established piece to lean on.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 17 they get a run-stuffing presence up front. A clean fit for the roster.
Edgerrin Cooper in the 42nd pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Value with a capital V on Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in the Round 2 slot, a genuine coup. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
The board fumbled Devontez Walker all the way to pick 109, and they scooped it up. It fills a real need, too.
They reached into another round for Justin Eboigbe, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They paid sticker price for Jordan Travis in the 156th overall pick, and that is fine. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Somehow Tykee Smith was still sitting there in Round 5, Pick 30, and they pounced on premier safety value. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
No edge and no loss on Jordan Jefferson in slot 179; it is a wash and a sensible one. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A reach for Daijun Edwards in No. 190; a little patience would have been rewarded. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.