D-
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings left with their quarterback, and a D- to match.
by Lenny ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 1 steals
· 2 reaches
The Vikings did not so much draft LaDarius Henderson as overpay for him, 37 picks clear of his grade. It sets an uneasy tone for the weekend. A D- that will need time and luck to look better.
Jayden Daniels gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits. They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down.
They will regret leaving safety for another day if the season turns on it. That Ali pick is the receipt they will wave around later.
The verdict is not kind, and fairly so; this class has a hill to climb.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 2 they get the face of the franchise at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Chris Braswell at pick No. 40 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
They took Malachi Corley at par in No. 71, which is nothing to complain about. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for LaDarius Henderson. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Fair-plus on Jaylin Simpson, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A clean, defensible pick in Round 6, Pick 4 with a little surplus value in Zion Tupuola-Fetui. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Rasheen Ali in No. 227 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.