F
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings bet the future on Daniels. The board says F.
by kgrundseth ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 0 steals
· 4 reaches
The Vikings lost the trade war and it was not close, handing partners the better end again and again. The warnings were there, and the F is the bill.
Jayden Daniels gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits. Every board in the league had Henderson lower, and that gap is the story.
Leaving interior defensive lineman unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. The bill for those future picks comes due whether the class hits or not.
In the end, a class that has to defy its grades just to matter.
Pick-by-Pick
A market-rate quarterback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jayden Daniels. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
By-the-book stuff, Malik Nabers at No. 5 squarely in line with his ranking. It fills a real need, too.
A tidy little value on Darius Robinson in pick 42, a step better than break-even. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Cole Bishop in Round 4, Pick 8 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jaylin Simpson at slot 129 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A minor itch, scratched.
No drama and no debate, Isaiah Davis went about where he belonged in the 157th pick. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A conviction pick on Khristian Boyd at the Round 5 slot that the board grades a round light. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A reach on Hunter Nourzad in the 177th overall pick; the board had better options right there. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They paid a round early for Jared Wiley in No. 188, more than the board wanted. The roster fit checks out.
A reach for LaDarius Henderson in pick 230; a little patience would have been rewarded. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.