D-
Minnesota Vikings
Maye is the plan now, and the Vikings grade out a D-.
by wbwychor ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 1 reaches
You can lose a draft before you make a pick. The Vikings did it at the trade table, overpaying to chase players the board did not price nearly as high. The math is unkind, and the D- follows.
So much rides on Drake Maye that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through safety.
Gargiulo has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. Eichenberg at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and safety is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 2nd pick they get a long-term answer under center. The biggest hole, addressed.
In slot 14 they get a No. 1 receiver at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
No edge and no loss on T'Vondre Sweat in No. 42; it is a wash and a sensible one. The roster fit checks out.
Mohamed Kamara in pick No. 130 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Taking Tommy Eichenberg in pick 166 is close to grand larceny; a linebacker that good had no business lasting this long. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Marist Liufau in the 169th overall pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Kamal Hadden slipping to the Round 6 slot is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Nick Gargiulo in Round 6, Pick 15 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They did well to land Rasheen Ali in slot 230, just ahead of his grade. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.