B+
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings turned the phones into found money: B+.
by Supermike3867 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 20 picks
· 5 steals
· 4 reaches
If you want a masterclass in dealing, watch the Vikings, who turned every swap into a profit this weekend. It nets out to a B+, which feels about right.
Getting Melton where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class. The Jackson pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at tight end. They will need Milton III to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it.
Leaving tight end unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 18 they get juice off the edge at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Chris Braswell at the 48th pick is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the edge rusher. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A premium they did not need to pay, Xavier Legette a notch or two before his time. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
You do not let a cornerback like Max Melton reach slot 84 and blink. They did not. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A want over a need in pick 85: Khyree Jackson adds a cornerback while tight end keeps waiting.
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, Cam Hart adds a cornerback and leaves tight end untouched.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Zak Zinter in No. 109. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Jamari Thrash. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
James Williams is a better player than the Round 4 slot suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Christian Jones at the 135th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Kalen King slipping to Round 5, Pick 12 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
A tidy little value on Justin Eboigbe in pick 156, a step better than break-even. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Fair-plus on Mason McCormick, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Joe Milton III at the 175th overall pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
By-the-book stuff, Delmar Glaze at slot 179 squarely in line with his ranking. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Tahj Washington in pick No. 195 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Daijun Edwards at pick No. 197 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. A need, and now a little less of one.
Myles Murphy in pick 208 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It fills a real need, too.
The board had Garret Greenfield higher than Round 7, Pick 17, and the offensive lineman fell to them anyway. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They let Ryan Cooper Jr. come to them and pounced at No. 241. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.