D+
Minnesota Vikings
Quarterback settled, Williams in the fold, and a D+ for the Vikings.
by Purplej1511 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 11 steals
· 1 reaches
Nobody had Frank Gore Jr. this high, and it is not close. The Vikings reached 45 spots to get him at the 179th pick. The process wobbled, and the D+ is where it lands.
The trades bled value they could not afford to lose. The whole projection now runs through Caleb Williams; hit there and everything else looks smarter. They punted on tight end, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Turner falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
The verdict is not kind, and fairly so; this class has a hill to climb.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a passer to set the clock by. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In pick No. 14 they get an anchor for the offensive line at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
A tidy bit of business in pick 36, where Chop Robinson graded well above the range. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A top-tier edge rusher at a bargain, Dallas Turner in No. 42, plain and simple. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
By-the-book stuff, Roman Wilson at slot 44 squarely in line with his ranking. The roster fit checks out.
They will replay Edgerrin Cooper at the 66th overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Kris Jenkins at slot 68 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Nice patience on Braden Fiske, who had no business lasting to the 70th overall pick. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Khyree Jackson in the 103rd pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
The board had Sataoa Laumea higher than Round 4, Pick 30, and the offensive lineman fell to them anyway. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Johnny Wilson in pick 156 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It fills a real need, too.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Kitan Oladapo in pick No. 166. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Grayson Murphy in No. 167 lands just on the right side of the ledger. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They reached a country mile for Frank Gore Jr. at the Round 6 slot, and the board is aghast. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Luke McCaffrey in pick 185 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A need, and now a little less of one.
They read the board right and Dwight McGlothern was the payoff at No. 190. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.