D
Minnesota Vikings
Daniels is the Vikings' new face under center. Grade: D.
by TOP DOG ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 2 steals
· 6 reaches
You can lose a draft before you make a pick. The Vikings did it at the trade table, overpaying to chase players the board did not price nearly as high.
Jayden Daniels gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits. Reaching for Thomas left real value on the table behind him. Leaving safety unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
Wilson at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and safety is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 4 they get their quarterback of the future. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In the Round 1 slot they get a run-stuffing presence up front at fair value. A real need, handled.
A reach for Jackson Powers-Johnson in No. 42; a little patience would have been rewarded. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Trey Benson in pick No. 49 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A reach on Darius Robinson in Round 4, Pick 13; the board had better options right there. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They robbed the room for Roman Wilson here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Cam Hart in the 130th pick is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
They paid sticker price for Javion Cohen in slot 145, and that is fine. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Braelon Allen at No. 157 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. The roster fit checks out.
Joe Milton III at slot 166 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Jordan Jefferson at the 179th pick is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Omar Speights in pick 221 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It adds depth where they could use a little.
No edge and no loss on Erick All in pick No. 227; it is a wash and a sensible one. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Jha'Quan Jackson at the Round 7 slot. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They reached into another round for Xavier Thomas, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.