B+
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings let Jenkins fall and pounced. Final grade: B+.
by Koc ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 6 steals
· 1 reaches
The real work happened on the phones. The Vikings fleeced their trade partners, turning their picks into a noticeably bigger pile than they started with.
The Jenkins steal is the beam this whole class leans on. It is not that McKinstry is a bad player; it is that the Vikings had louder needs to answer first. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped quarterback, which is a strange place to end up.
The cost of the Hopper reach is exactly the players who went right after him.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but quarterback.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 27 they get a premier pass rusher, and a steal at that. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Nate Wiggins in No. 35 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A minor need, but a need all the same.
They bypassed pressing needs at quarterback, offensive lineman and other spots to take Kool-Aid McKinstry, a cornerback that was not the priority.
A edge rusher of that caliber at Round 3, Pick 7 is the definition of value, full stop. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Cole Bishop at the 109th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Mohamed Kamara in the Round 4 slot is fair value, right on his grade. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Nehemiah Pritchett in Round 5, Pick 20 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Ty'Ron Hopper at No. 166 is a conviction pick that outran the value. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Jalyx Hunt at the 179th pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. Need-wise, a curious use of the pick.
Jordan Jefferson in the Round 6 slot is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.