D-
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings bet the future on Penix Jr.. The board says D-.
by Rglor222 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 3 steals
· 3 reaches
The Vikings bet big and early on Ricky Pearsall, 35 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right.
The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. Everything downstream of Michael Penix Jr. depends on Michael Penix Jr., and the building knows it.
On value alone, White makes the weekend a net positive. The DeJean pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with edge rusher, tight end and other spots still on the board.
They will regret leaving edge rusher for another day if the season turns on it.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and edge rusher is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
Good price on Michael Penix Jr. in the Round 1 slot, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
In Round 1, Pick 25 they get a sticky cover corner. Need was not the driver here.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went cornerback with Cooper DeJean while clear needs at edge rusher, tight end and other spots sat open.
Kamren Kinchens at the 77th pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the safety. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A straight-up fair deal on Donovan Edwards at pick No. 79, value and slot in agreement. The roster fit checks out.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Brenden Rice well ahead of where he belonged. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A tidy bit of business in slot 125, where Blake Fisher graded well above the range. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
No edge and no loss on Mike Sainristil in Round 5, Pick 13; it is a wash and a sensible one. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
A big swing on Joe Milton III at the 162nd overall pick, well ahead of any board in the building. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Ricky Pearsall in pick No. 165 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A tidy little value on Jack Nelson in No. 179, a step better than break-even. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Zy Alexander in the Round 6 slot is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Ricky White at pick 233 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.