F
Minnesota Vikings
A passer of the future in Maye, and a F, for the Vikings.
by GM ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 22 picks
· 2 steals
· 4 reaches
Every swap seemed to tilt away from the Vikings, and the value they bled adds up to real damage. About as rough as the board gets, and a F to prove it.
Everything downstream of Drake Maye depends on Drake Maye, and the building knows it. Green has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced.
It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
The verdict is harsh because the weekend was, and there is little to argue.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 3rd overall pick they get a long-term answer under center. The biggest hole, addressed.
Brock Bowers in No. 4 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
In slot 11 they get a wrecking ball inside at fair value. A real need, handled.
Good price on Dallas Turner in pick 17, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Chris Braswell in pick No. 37. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They went early on Jackson Powers-Johnson in Round 2, Pick 12, and the value did not follow. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. in the Round 3 slot lands just on the right side of the ledger. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A straight-up fair deal on Blake Corum at the 68th pick, value and slot in agreement. The roster fit checks out.
They paid sticker price for Cooper Beebe in pick No. 71, and that is fine. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Johnny Wilson in slot 79 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They read the board right and Jalen McMillan was the payoff at the 89th overall pick. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Javon Solomon at the 108th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Where it fits the depth chart is the real question.
They jumped the gun on Jarrian Jones, taking him earlier than his grade liked. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
By-the-book stuff, James Williams at the Round 4 slot squarely in line with his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
No drama and no debate, Theo Johnson went about where he belonged in No. 148. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Jaylin Simpson slipping to pick 155 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Austin Booker at the 160th overall pick nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Roger Rosengarten in pick 165 is fair value, right on his grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Nothing to complain about; Curtis Jacobs went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Jalen Green. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Matthew Jones at pick No. 230 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A reach on Demorie Tate in No. 237; the board had better options right there. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.