B+
Minnesota Vikings
Quarterback settled, Nix in the fold, and a B+ for the Vikings.
by kgrundseth ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 5 steals
· 2 reaches
The search is over. The Vikings handed the keys to Bo Nix, and the whole operation now runs on his development. The bottom line is a respectable B+.
Hadden falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. The cost of the Whittington reach is exactly the players who went right after him.
The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. They will answer for taking OLB-EDGE early while interior defensive lineman went begging.
If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through interior defensive lineman.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the interior defensive lineman spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 31 they get a passer to set the clock by. The biggest hole, addressed.
A market-rate linebacker, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Edgerrin Cooper. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. at slot 54 is the proof. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
A straight-up fair deal on Jaylen Wright at the 75th pick, value and slot in agreement. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Xavier Worthy in the Round 3 slot is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
By-the-book stuff, Christian Mahogany at the 94th overall pick squarely in line with his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose OLB-EDGE. Javon Solomon in No. 109 leaves interior defensive lineman for later.
They paid sticker price for Javon Foster in pick 123, and that is fine. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Value with a capital V on Renardo Green in the 125th overall pick, a genuine coup. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They bypassed pressing needs at interior defensive lineman to take Jarvis Brownlee Jr., a cornerback that was not the priority.
They took Theo Johnson at par in the 135th pick, which is nothing to complain about. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Nothing to complain about; Malik Mustapha went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Mason McCormick in No. 161 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Grayson Murphy at pick No. 166 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the edge rusher. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They went early on Hunter Nourzad in Round 6, Pick 4, and the value did not follow. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A real head-scratcher, Jordan Whittington in the Round 6 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
The board fumbled Kamal Hadden all the way to the 222nd pick, and they scooped it up. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.