B-
Minnesota Vikings
A solid, sensible weekend for the Vikings: B-.
by kgrundseth ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 2 steals
· 3 reaches
Somehow the biggest item on the list survived the weekend. The Vikings never addressed quarterback, and it is the kind of gap that lingers.
That Hardy pick is the receipt they will wave around later. Every board in the league had Cohen lower, and that gap is the story.
They bet on numbers rather than a single high pick.
Not a headline-grabber, but a perfectly good weekend's work.
Pick-by-Pick
They paid sticker price for Dallas Turner in pick No. 11, and that is fine. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A market-rate edge rusher, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Kris Jenkins. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
No edge and no loss on Ray Davis in Round 4, Pick 8; it is a wash and a sensible one. The roster fit checks out.
A reach on Javion Cohen in the Round 4 slot; the board had better options right there. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They liked Justin Rogers enough to skip the value, taking him in No. 148. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Chau Smith-Wade at the 160th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A minor need, but a need all the same.
They took Javon Baker at par in slot 173, which is nothing to complain about. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
No drama and no debate, Aki Ogunbiyi went about where he belonged in the 179th pick. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Daequan Hardy slipping to the 230th overall pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Chad Lindberg at pick 238 is a conviction pick that outran the value. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They read the board right and Aaron Frost was the payoff at No. 254. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.