D-
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings left with their quarterback, and a D- to match.
by Dummpollock ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 4 steals
· 2 reaches
The trade table was where it all came apart. The Vikings shipped out far more than they hauled back, and no amount of spin dresses up the bill.
They have staked the next five years on J.J. McCarthy, which is the only story that really matters here. They will answer for taking linebacker early while edge rusher and tight end went begging. The edge rusher hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
The cost of the McCarthy reach is exactly the players who went right after him. The Baker pick alone nudges the whole weekend up a notch.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, edge rusher very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 11 they get a plug-and-play piece up front at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
A reach for J.J. McCarthy in the 26th overall pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Tyler Guyton at slot 42 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
By-the-book stuff, Edgerrin Cooper at pick No. 58 squarely in line with his ranking. It adds depth where they could use a little.
They paid sticker price for Tyler Davis in the Round 3 slot, and that is fine. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
DeWayne Carter at the 109th pick is money in the bank, a interior defensive lineman taken below his worth. It fills a real need, too.
No drama and no debate, Isaiah Adams went about where he belonged in No. 127. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They bypassed pressing needs at edge rusher and tight end to take Cedric Gray, a linebacker that was not the priority.
They took Javion Cohen at par in Round 5, Pick 9, which is nothing to complain about. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They jumped the gun on Layden Robinson, taking him earlier than his grade liked. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
No edge and no loss on Joe Milton III in the Round 5 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson is a better player than No. 179 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Javon Baker in the 204th overall pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Miyan Williams slipping to the 227th pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.