C+
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings finally solved quarterback, and it carried them to a C+.
by FloridaVike ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 1 steals
· 4 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 final tally is a middling C+.
Reaching for Smith left real value on the table behind him. That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
With edge rusher, safety and other spots unsolved, spending premium capital on DT-EDGE is the choice that costs them. Colby falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
Hit on J.J. McCarthy and the swing picks, and this ages a lot better than it grades today.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 12 they get a passer to set the clock by, though the board says they badly overpaid. The biggest hole, addressed.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending Round 2, Pick 12 on Maason Smith with edge rusher, safety and other spots unsolved.
Brenden Rice in the 112th pick is fair value, right on his grade. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They paid sticker price for Khyree Jackson in the 127th overall pick, and that is fine. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Mike Sainristil in No. 156. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Ty'Ron Hopper in the Round 5 slot is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They let Connor Colby come to them and pounced at slot 165. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
By-the-book stuff, Fabien Lovett at pick 179 squarely in line with his ranking. It fills a real need, too.
No drama and no debate, Reuben Fatheree II went about where he belonged in the 233rd pick. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Benjamin Yurosek this early at pick 245. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.