C+
Minnesota Vikings
McCarthy is the plan now, and the Vikings grade out a C+.
by FloridaVike ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 1 steals
· 3 reaches
Start where it matters. The Vikings took J.J. McCarthy to run the offense for the next decade, and every other decision this weekend bends around that one. Fine in stretches, shaky in others: a C+.
Smith has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. A whole weekend of picks and safety is somehow still a want.
Spending an early pick on DT-EDGE with safety, running back and other spots open is the decision the grade keeps circling back to. The Colby pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged.
If J.J. McCarthy and a couple of the gambles land, hindsight will be kinder than this grade.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 12 they get a long-term answer under center, though the board says they badly overpaid. The biggest hole, addressed.
A want over a need in No. 44: Maason Smith adds a DT-EDGE while safety, running back and other spots keeps waiting.
Brenden Rice at the Round 4 slot is right where the board had him, plain and simple. The roster fit checks out.
By-the-book stuff, Khyree Jackson at pick No. 127 squarely in line with his ranking. A minor itch, scratched.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Mike Sainristil. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Ashton Gillotte in Round 5, Pick 26 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
The board had Connor Colby higher than the 165th overall pick, and the offensive lineman fell to them anyway. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Jordan Burch at pick 179 is a conviction pick that outran the value. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They did well to land Luke Reimer in pick No. 233, just ahead of his grade. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.