The 2024 NFL Draft is in the books — and what a draft it was. The Vikings selected seven players, but their class will be defined by the success or failure of the first one they took on Thursday night. After determining that they wouldn't be able to move up into the top three and watching four quarterbacks go off the board in the first eight picks, they moved up one spot to pick Michigan's J.J. McCarthy tenth overall, making him the highest-drafted quarterback in franchise history. The Vikings then traded up again in the first round for Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner — who they believe can be a cornerstone for their defense — and made a few interesting picks on Day 3 after being the league's only team without a selection on Day 2.
Years from now, this might be looked at as the draft where the Vikings landed the franchise quarterback they've been searching for, really, since Fran Tarkenton retired nearly 50 years ago. Or maybe it'll be remembered as a draft where they aggressively mortgaged future picks but still settled for the fifth QB out of six. Only time will tell.
Here are five takeaways on the Vikings' 2024 draft haul.
1. McCarthy and Turner could be a special duo
The Vikings' two trade-ups in a busy first round on Thursday landed them a pair of players who could form the foundation of their future. Not only did they make McCarthy their highest-drafted QB ever, they also got a borderline top-ten talent in Turner, who is the first edge rusher they've drafted in the first (or second) round since Erasmus James in 2005. That '05 draft was also the last time the Vikings took two players in the top 20 picks. It wouldn't be a bad outcome if McCarthy and Turner turn out similarly to the Vikings' 2014 haul of Teddy Bridgewater and Anthony Barr (minus the devastating knee injury for Teddy), but the team is hoping they can be closer to last year's Texans duo of C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr.
McCarthy was a polarizing prospect due to his lack of passing volume at Michigan, but there's a lot to like when you watch his tape and look at his efficiency numbers. He's a proven winner and a natural leader with plenty of arm talent and athleticism, and he has always produced in the situations where his team needs him most: on third downs and in the red zone. He's landing in the best environment of any rookie quarterback this year, which helps. If anyone can get the most out of McCarthy, it's Kevin O'Connell and Josh McCown and the rest of Minnesota's coaching staff. Whenever he beats out Sam Darnold for the starting job — which could be Week 1, Week 7, or 2025 — he'll be throwing to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison in an offense that will utilize his strengths as a play-action passer.
"Every QB in the class that I interacted with wanted to go to Minnesota," McCarthy said. "It's just a perfect destination for a quarterback that's up and coming in this league."
Turner is a player who the Vikings didn't expect to have a chance at landing. Usually projected as a top-ten pick, he slide out of the top 15 because of the unprecedented run on offensive players that began this draft. So the Vikings aggressively moved up to get him, believing he has special upside at a premium position. In 2021, Turner had 8.5 sacks in the final seven games of the season as an 18-year-old true freshman. Last year, he had 10 sacks in 14 games and was a consensus first team All-American. He isn't the biggest edge rusher at 6'3", 247 pounds, but he's a freakish athlete who ran a 4.46 40 with elite jumps at the combine. Turner dominated in the SEC with his long arms, explosive get-off, powerful hands, and a nonstop motor. He should thrive in Brian Flores' defense and is the early favorite to win defensive rookie of the year.
"We were able to add two cornerstone-type pieces to the franchise," GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said. "Add aquarterback who’s got a lot of potential of ability — he’s won at a high level in a lot of different places.An edge rusher who again impacts the game and is really just scratching the surface with his ability. We can’t believe we got them both in the same draft."
2. The Vikings put a lot of their eggs into two baskets
The Vikings better hope McCarthy and Turner pan out, because they gave up a lot to go get them. They traded a fourth and a fifth-round pick to go up one spot and ensure that they got McCarthy, getting a sixth-rounder back. Then they traded a third-rounder, a fourth-rounder, and a fifth-rounder to move up six spots for Turner. When you factor the March trade the Vikings made for the No. 23 pick, here's the final tally on what they dealt:
— Vikings get: 1.10 (J.J. McCarthy), 1.17 (Dallas Turner), 6.203 (Will Reichard), 7.232 (Levi Drake Rodriguez)
— Vikings trade: 1.11, 1.23, 2.42, 4.129, 5.157, 5.167, 2025 second-rounder, 2025 third-rounder, 2025 fourth-rounder, 2025 fifth-rounder
As a result of those moves, the Vikings didn't have a single pick on Day 2 this year and currently have just four picks next year, including a projected compensatory selection. The analytics trade charts didn't like the trade that got the Vikings the 23rd pick and they certainly didn't like the price the Vikings paid to move up from 23 to 17. That clearly didn't bother Adofo-Mensah, who comes from an analytics background.
"Obviously, I'm a spreadsheet and calculator guy myself,but sometimes you’ve gotta step out from there, take your Clark Kent glasses off and just have achampionship mindset and swing for a great player," he said. That quote was about moving up one spot for McCarthy, but it applies even more to the trade for Turner.
To help rationalize the Turner trade, you can point out that it was only possible because the Vikings didn't have to deal the 23rd pick (and much more) to move up into the top five for a quarterback, like many thought they would. You can say that the Vikings getting a projected top-ten pick at No. 17 overall shifts the equation a bit. You can point out that even though they won't be able to do much in next year's draft, they held onto their first-rounder and will have a ton of cap space to address needs in free agency. Regardless of the validity of those arguments, it's still fair to question the process of giving up as much as the Vikings did to trade up for a non-quarterback. The Vikings are really banking on McCarthy and Turner panning out.
3. Fourth-round corner has big-time upside
After their busy first night, the Vikings only made one pick in rounds two through five of this year's draft, selecting Oregon CB Khyree Jackson early in the fourth round. He's a player with a fascinating backstory and immense upside because of his physical tools. After high school, Jackson lost interest in football and was spending his time slicing deli meats at his local grocery store and trying to make a career out of playing the NBA 2K video game. Jackson was then convinced to come back to football, and he went from two different community colleges to a special teams role at Alabama before blowing up last year with a huge season at Oregon.
Jackson turns 25 in August, which means he's extremely old for an NFL rookie. He was in the same 2017 high school class as players like Chase Young and Cam Akers, who are going into their fifth seasons in the league this year. Still, if his 2023 season with the Ducks is any indication, he has a chance to be a steal for the Vikings in the fourth round. The 6'4" Jackson has rare length for a cornerback and thrives in press-man coverage, making him an ideal fit for a Brian Flores defense. If his physical tools and tenacious mindset translate to the next level, he could be quite good.
"When you see someone with this type of size ... (you assume) this guy's maybe too tall because he's not going to be able to transition at that size," said Vikings SVP of Player Personnel Ryan Grigson. "But the way he drops his weight and his hips and his footwork, it's just not ordinary and that's why I love the pick because I think all the coaches, everyone sees the talent and sees some of the rare things that are really hard to get in this round."
4. Drafting a kicker was worth a shot
With one of their two sixth-round picks in this year's draft, the Vikings made Alabama's Will Reichard the first kicker off the board. Some will question the value of using a draft pick on a kicker instead of just bringing one in as a UDFA, but if there was ever a franchise for whom it makes sense, it's the Vikings. Their franchise history is littered with infamous missed kicks, and they've been trying to find a long-term answer at that position for over a decade. They stuck with Greg Joseph over the last three seasons despite mediocre results, only bringing in undrafted free agents Riley Patterson, Gabe Brkic, and Jack Podlesny as competition.
In 2012, the Vikings drafted Blair Walsh in the sixth round, but he flamed out after an incredible rookie year. In 2018, the Vikings drafted Daniel Carlson in the fifth round, hastily cut him after a brutal game early in his rookie season, and have watched him become one of the best kickers in the league since then. Now they're trying again. Reichard, who is the all-time leading scorer in the SEC, made 22 of his 25 field goal attempts last year, including all five from 50-plus yards. Given how frequently the Vikings seem to end up in close games, having a consistent and reliable kicker would be huge. That makes it worth a shot in the sixth round.
"This is a guy that's competed at the highest level and been a part of a championship program, five years doing it," said special teams coordinator Matt Daniels. "Had a lot of success there,faced a lot of adversity, and has come through in the biggest and highest-pressure situations."
5. Late-round linemen could provide valuable depth
In addition to Reichard, the Vikings used three late-round picks on linemen who could be useful depth players on their roster: Oklahoma OT Walter Rouse, Wake Forest C/G Michael Jurgens, and Texas A&M Commerce DT Levi Drake Rodriguez. Rouse is an experienced left tackle who replaces Oli Udoh on the depth chart and can compete with veteran David Quessenberry to be the team's swing tackle. He only played LT during his career at Stanford and Oklahoma, but he'll be trained to be an option at RT as well. Jurgens adds depth on the interior of the offensive line, which is always important. And Rodriguez is a fascinating story — he started his career at an NAIA school and then dominated at the FCS level — with a chance to work his way up the depth chart in a Vikings defensive tackle room that doesn't have much in the way of proven contributors. He's a relentless worker and an electric personality who has some real juice as an interior pass rusher.
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