B-
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings let Simpson fall into their laps, and walked away with a B-.
by DSchully ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 0 reaches
This is the pick they will still be bragging about in July: Jaylin Simpson, the No. 144 name on the board, stolen at the 164th pick. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B-.
That safety hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. Job largely done: quarterback settled and 5 of 8 of the wish list covered.
Good work on the whole, with safety the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a load in the middle. A clean fit for the roster.
A straight-up fair deal on J.J. McCarthy at slot 42, value and slot in agreement. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Value with a capital V on Roman Wilson in the 108th pick, a genuine coup. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A slide stopped in Round 4, Pick 28, with Kris Abrams-Draine worth more than the price. A minor need, but a need all the same.
A clean, defensible pick in pick No. 148 with a little surplus value in Javion Cohen. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Darius Robinson in pick 163 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Taking Jaylin Simpson in the 164th overall pick is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
They paid sticker price for Ben Bywater in No. 179, and that is fine. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Zion Nelson in pick 230 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.