D
Minnesota Vikings
Daniels is the plan now, and the Vikings grade out a D.
by calebeastep05 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 3 steals
· 1 reaches
Every swap seemed to tilt away from the Vikings, and the value they bled adds up to real damage. The process wobbled, and the D is where it lands.
Jayden Daniels gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits. The Newton pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at interior defensive lineman.
On value alone, Washington makes the weekend a net positive. For all the activity, interior defensive lineman went untouched, which is hard to explain.
The Nubin reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, interior defensive lineman very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
By-the-book stuff, Jayden Daniels at pick 7 squarely in line with his ranking. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
In the 28th pick they get a rangy last line of defense, even if it was a touch early. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Darius Robinson in Round 2, Pick 10 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Blake Corum at No. 93 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the running back. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Khyree Jackson at the Round 3 slot is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A market-rate running back, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Braelon Allen. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Josh Newton at cornerback with interior defensive lineman open.
Marcus Harris in pick No. 134 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Fair-plus on Tykee Smith, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A clean, defensible pick in the 154th pick with a little surplus value in Marist Liufau. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
They paid sticker price for Trevor Keegan in No. 156, and that is fine. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A slide stopped in the 175th overall pick, with AJ Barner worth more than the price. It fills a real need, too.
Ty'Ron Hopper at the Round 6 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
They took Tanor Bortolini at par in slot 217, which is nothing to complain about. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They will replay Tahj Washington at pick 235 for years; that is how good the value is. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.