D-
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings found their guy under center in Maye: D-.
by jc23hanson ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 13 picks
· 1 steals
· 5 reaches
The Vikings bet big and early on Taulia Tagovailoa, 57 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right.
So much rides on Drake Maye that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him. Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. Leaving interior defensive lineman unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
Smith falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch. Spend now, pay later; the math only works if this class delivers.
Bottom line, they will be counting on several picks to beat their grades.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 3 they get the face of the franchise. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Javon Bullard at the Round 2 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Christian Mahogany in the 56th overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Cam Hart at Round 4, Pick 8 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Value said wait; Mohamed Kamara in slot 115 says they were not listening. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A clean, defensible pick in No. 129 with a little surplus value in James Williams. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Ainias Smith at slot 157 is money in the bank, a wide receiver taken below his worth. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They liked Ty'Ron Hopper enough to skip the value, taking him in the 167th pick. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
By-the-book stuff, Tip Reiman at the Round 6 slot squarely in line with his ranking. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Trente Jones in pick No. 180 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
No edge and no loss on Steele Chambers in the 194th overall pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Taulia Tagovailoa well ahead of where he belonged. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Frank Gore Jr. at pick 232 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the running back. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.