F
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings found their guy under center in McCarthy: F.
by Dabrio54 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 21 picks
· 5 steals
· 8 reaches
Nobody had Austin Reed this high, and it is not close. The Vikings reached 80 spots to get him at the Round 6 slot. The board sounded every alarm, and the F is the fallout.
J.J. McCarthy gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits. Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. Bertrand at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster.
The bill for those future picks comes due whether the class hits or not.
There is no spinning it; the board won this weekend going away.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 11 they get a double-digit-sack hope. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Jackson Powers-Johnson in pick No. 18 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
In slot 23 they get a home-run threat at receiver, reach and all. A clean fit for the roster.
J.J. McCarthy at the 26th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
No drama and no debate, Junior Colson went about where he belonged in the Round 2 slot. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
They paid sticker price for Renardo Green in Round 3, Pick 16, and that is fine. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They paid up for Zak Zinter at No. 97 when waiting would have done the job. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They did well to land Audric Estime in Round 4, Pick 8, just ahead of his grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Mekhi Wingo at slot 115 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They reached into another round for Jalyx Hunt, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The roster logic is harder to follow.
Jarrian Jones at pick 149 is money in the bank, a cornerback taken below his worth. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Jaheim Bell at the 157th overall pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
You do not let a wide receiver like Luke McCaffrey reach pick No. 167 and blink. They did not. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
No edge and no loss on Jordan Jefferson in the Round 6 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They reached a country mile for Austin Reed at the 194th overall pick, and the board is aghast. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A tidy bit of business in pick 214, where Jared Wiley graded well above the range. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Zion Logue well ahead of where he belonged. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Garret Greenfield at Round 7, Pick 12. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They liked Jalen Sundell enough to skip the value, taking him in No. 237. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A real head-scratcher, Carson Steele in slot 256 is miles ahead of his ranking. A need, and now a little less of one.
Somehow JD Bertrand was still sitting there in the 257th pick, and they pounced on premier linebacker value. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.