B+
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings left with their quarterback, and a B+ to match.
by Lenny ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 2 steals
· 1 reaches
The one hole that towered over the rest is filled. The Vikings spent their marquee pick on Michael Penix Jr., and for the first time in a while there is a real answer at quarterback. More right than wrong, and a B+ to match.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. If one pick saves this weekend, it is McLachlan.
The interior defensive lineman hole is the one line item this class does not answer. The Limmer pick is the one the value grade keeps tripping over.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the interior defensive lineman spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 17 they get the face of the franchise at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A market-rate edge rusher, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Chop Robinson. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Cooper Beebe in No. 48 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Javon Baker at the 90th pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. The roster fit checks out.
A wild overpay on Beaux Limmer in the Round 4 slot, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Good price on Cedric Gray in slot 116, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. A minor itch, scratched.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Kitan Oladapo in pick 157. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Cody Schrader at pick No. 177 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board fumbled Tanner McLachlan all the way to Round 7, Pick 10, and they scooped it up. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Evan Williams at pick No. 232 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.