B+
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings drew a line under the quarterback search with McCarthy: B+.
by isu101 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 2 steals
· 3 reaches
Start where it matters. The Vikings took J.J. McCarthy to run the offense for the next decade, and every other decision this weekend bends around that one. The bottom line is a respectable B+.
Every board in the league had Watson lower, and that gap is the story. With interior defensive lineman unsolved, spending premium capital on DT-EDGE is the choice that costs them.
The Lloyd value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through interior defensive lineman.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 22 they get a franchise quarterback, though the board says they badly overpaid. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A market-rate edge rusher, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Adisa Isaac. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A surprising call. With interior defensive lineman still to address, they spent the 87th overall pick on Maason Smith, a DT-EDGE they were not short of.
Malik Washington at the 109th pick is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Justin Eboigbe in slot 130. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
MarShawn Lloyd at pick No. 145 is money in the bank, a running back taken below his worth. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Theo Johnson at the Round 5 slot is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the tight end. A need, and now a little less of one.
Khristian Boyd in Round 5, Pick 30 lands just on the right side of the ledger. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
LaDarius Henderson in slot 173 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Nice patience on Kitan Oladapo, who had no business lasting to pick No. 179. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A tidy little value on Javon Baker in the 191st overall pick, a step better than break-even. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
No edge and no loss on Braiden McGregor in No. 217; it is a wash and a sensible one. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Nathaniel Watson in the Round 7 slot, miles early. A minor itch, scratched.