C-
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings bet the future on McCarthy. The board says C-.
by Viking28 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 7 steals
· 2 reaches
The rest of the league will want that one back. Jha'Quan Jackson tumbling to the Vikings in Round 7, Pick 19 is a gift they did not have to think twice about.
J.J. McCarthy gives the offense a face and a plan, and the grade leans heavily on whether he hits. The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. The Brownlee Jr. pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with running back, tight end and other spots still on the board.
They punted on running back, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. Every board in the league had McCarthy lower, and that gap is the story.
If J.J. McCarthy and a couple of the gambles land, hindsight will be kinder than this grade.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a long-term answer under center, a steep price for the projection. The biggest hole, addressed.
In pick No. 19 they get a sticky cover corner. More want than need.
A wide receiver of that caliber at Round 3, Pick 10 is the definition of value, full stop. The roster fit checks out.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went cornerback with Jarvis Brownlee Jr. while clear needs at running back, tight end and other spots sat open.
They let Tommy Eichenberg come to them and pounced at pick No. 157. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Mason McCormick at the 159th overall pick is the proof. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Khristian Boyd at the Round 5 slot is a conviction pick that outran the value. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They barely believed it either: Jacob Cowing still on the board at slot 187. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The board fumbled Trente Jones all the way to pick 232, and they scooped it up. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Steal is underselling it; Jha'Quan Jackson at No. 239 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It fills a real need, too.
Tyler Owens at No. 257 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.