C+
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings bet the future on McCarthy. The board says C+.
by cristioan beregeso9n ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 0 steals
· 6 reaches
The Vikings spent the pick that matters most on J.J. McCarthy, and a roster that has been waiting on a passer can start to take shape.
The cost of the Ogunbiyi reach is exactly the players who went right after him. The safety hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
On the needs board they went 6 of 8, with quarterback the one that mattered most. The offense got the lion's share of the attention.
Not a disaster, not a triumph, just a middling class.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 20 they get a long-term answer under center. Exactly the need they had to hit.
TreVeyon Henderson at slot 52 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Tyleik Williams in the 104th pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. The roster fit checks out.
A real head-scratcher, Jaylan Ford in Round 5, Pick 21 is miles ahead of his ranking. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Chau Smith-Wade at the Round 5 slot is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A fine player at a spot low on the priority list.
Shemar Turner in pick No. 168 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Value said wait; Aki Ogunbiyi in the 179th overall pick says they were not listening. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jake Briningstool well ahead of where he belonged. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.