B+
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings worked the phones like thieves and earned a B+.
by kgrundseth ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 2 steals
· 2 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. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B+.
The Gray pick alone nudges the whole weekend up a notch. If Keegan pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. That wide receiver hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
Adding Jakobi Meyers by trade rounds out the weekend beyond the rookies.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 13 they get juice off the edge. The biggest hole, addressed.
A market-rate quarterback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on J.J. McCarthy. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
By-the-book stuff, Leonard Taylor III at the Round 4 slot squarely in line with his ranking. It fills a real need, too.
Dillon Johnson in the 112th overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Fair-plus on Johnny Dixon, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A slide stopped in No. 148, with Cedric Gray worth more than the price. A minor itch, scratched.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Chau Smith-Wade at the 166th pick. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
They paid up for Aki Ogunbiyi at pick 175 when waiting would have done the job. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jordan Jefferson in the 179th pick is fair value, right on his grade. A need, and now a little less of one.
Josh Proctor in pick 190 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Trevor Keegan. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
No edge and no loss on Dylan McMahon in the Round 7 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.