B-
Minnesota Vikings
McCarthy is the Vikings' new face under center. Grade: B-.
by kgrundseth ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 4 steals
· 4 reaches
After circling the position for what felt like forever, the Vikings committed. J.J. McCarthy is the quarterback now, and the roster gets built to his timeline. It does the job without flash, and the B- reflects it.
Every board in the league had Raym lower, and that gap is the story. The Barner steal is the beam this whole class leans on. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast.
Spending an early pick on cornerback with safety and running back open is the decision the grade keeps circling back to. They will regret leaving safety for another day if the season turns on it.
A tidy weekend of work that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
They reached into another round for J.J. McCarthy, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
T'Vondre Sweat at the Round 2 slot nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Andru Phillips. A minor itch, scratched.
A quiet steal in pick No. 108: Christian Mahogany for less than the market said. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went cornerback with Cam Hart while clear needs at safety and running back sat open.
They took Jaheim Bell at par in the 157th overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A wild overpay on Myles Cole in slot 167, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They talked themselves into Javontae Jean-Baptiste at No. 177, and the board did not agree. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Value said wait; Andrew Raym in pick 188 says they were not listening. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
The board fumbled AJ Barner all the way to pick No. 214, and they scooped it up. It fills a real need, too.
A wide receiver of that caliber at the Round 7 slot is the definition of value, full stop. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.