D-
Minnesota Vikings
Daniels is the plan now, and the Vikings grade out a D-.
by abhi ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 3 steals
· 5 reaches
Nobody else had Matt Lee anywhere near No. 256. The Vikings did, by 37 spots, and that gap is the whole story.
The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close. Jayden Daniels gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits.
The Vikings indulged a want in James while a need in edge rusher stayed open. They punted on edge rusher, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Barrett.
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
In the 5th overall pick they get a long-term answer under center. The biggest hole, addressed.
Terrion Arnold at No. 23 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the cornerback. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Tyler Nubin at pick 34 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A curious use of the 75th pick. Edge rusher needed the pick; a cornerback in DJ James did not.
No drama and no debate, Bucky Irving went about where he belonged in slot 83. The roster fit checks out.
Nothing to complain about; DeWayne Carter went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
The board had cheaper options than Cedric Gray at the 109th overall pick, and it noticed. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
They did well to land Matt Goncalves in pick 116, just ahead of his grade. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jamari Thrash at the 130th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Theo Johnson at slot 139 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
By-the-book stuff, Trevor Keegan at the Round 5 slot squarely in line with his ranking. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Cody Schrader at Round 5, Pick 30. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They paid up for Tahj Washington at pick No. 179 when waiting would have done the job. It fills a real need, too.
They went early on Nick Gargiulo in No. 190, and the value did not follow. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Somehow Ty'Ron Hopper was still sitting there in the Round 6 slot, and they pounced on premier linebacker value. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Ryan Cooper Jr. in Round 7, Pick 15 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
They will replay Michael Barrett at pick No. 252 for years; that is how good the value is. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
A wild overpay on Matt Lee in the 256th pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.