B-
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings won the night they stopped Jones from sliding. Grade: B-.
by ScottyB1963 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 4 steals
· 1 reaches
The phones were a trap the Vikings kept walking into, shipping out surplus on nearly every deal. More right than wrong, and a B- to match.
The Smith pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at running back, wide receiver and other spots. They are betting Jefferson proves the room right and everyone else wrong. A whole weekend of picks and running back is somehow still a want.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Jones.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and J.J. McCarthy at No. 54 is the proof. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A curious use of pick 90. Running back, wide receiver and other spots needed the pick; a DT-EDGE in Maason Smith did not.
Mike Sainristil in slot 96 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Zak Zinter in the 97th pick is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Jaden Hicks at Round 4, Pick 8 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They did well to land Tommy Eichenberg in the Round 4 slot, just ahead of his grade. A minor itch, scratched.
They took Beaux Limmer at par in pick No. 137, which is nothing to complain about. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Javion Cohen at the Round 5 slot is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the offensive lineman. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Justin Rogers in No. 155 is fair value, right on his grade. The roster fit checks out.
They paid sticker price for Cedric Johnson in Round 5, Pick 20, and that is fine. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They reached into another round for Jordan Jefferson, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
By-the-book stuff, Chau Smith-Wade at pick 160 squarely in line with his ranking. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
LaDarius Henderson at the 165th pick nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Jaylan Ford in the 179th overall pick lands just on the right side of the ledger. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Kenny Logan Jr. at No. 211 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Sheridan Jones in pick No. 230 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.