A-
Minnesota Vikings
Best value of the weekend goes to the Vikings for Carson: A-.
by LT ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 6 steals
· 0 reaches
The board owed the Vikings one, and it paid up: Caelen Carson, the No. 85 name on the board, sitting there at pick 109 like a gift left on the doorstep.
With quarterback, safety and other spots unsolved, spending premium capital on cornerback is the choice that costs them. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through quarterback. They squeezed a little extra out of every move they made.
Bottom line, with Dallas Turner leading the way, this is a class that should pay off fast and rarely be regretted.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 25 they get a disruptor off the edge, and a steal at that. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Chop Robinson in pick No. 42 lands just on the right side of the ledger. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Roman Wilson slipping to the 91st pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Somehow Caelen Carson was still sitting there in the Round 4 slot, and they pounced on premier cornerback value. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose cornerback. Kris Abrams-Draine in the 130th overall pick leaves quarterback, safety and other spots for later.
Javion Cohen in slot 145 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A quiet steal in No. 157: Dylan Laube for less than the market said. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A tidy little value on Braelon Allen in Round 5, Pick 30, a step better than break-even. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Layden Robinson in pick 179 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Michael Barrett in pick No. 203 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
No edge and no loss on Erick All in the 227th pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.