Remember the “Bloodline” Players for Vikings in Draft
The Minnesota Vikings own nine picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, on deck to select 11th after a 7-10 season in 2023.
Remember the “Bloodline” Players for Vikings in Draft
These are the picks:
- Round 1 (No. 11 overall)
- Round 2 (No. 42 overall)
- Round 4 (from DET)
- Round 4
- Round 5 (from KC)
- Round 5 (from CLE)
- Round 6 (from CAR through JAX)
- Round 6 (from LV through NE)
- Round 7 (conditional from ATL through ARZ)
And while most chatter surrounds Minnesota’s plan at the 11th pick — most believe the franchise will select a quarterback or impact defensive player — the eight other selections will also net value.
Therefore, regarding mid- and late-round steals, this a formal reminder to remember some high-profile bloodline players — also known as sons of popular former NFLers.
The first is Frank Gore Jr. Unsurprisingly, he’s a running back and the son of iron-man future Hall of Famer tailback Frank Gore Sr. Coincidentally, the Vikings may use one of their nine draft picks on a running back after finishing 27th in the NFL per rushing DVOA in back-to-back seasons. Gore Jr. attended Southern Miss — the same school as Brett Favre and Nick Mullens — and won’t cost his next team too much draft capital. Most draft heads believe Gore Jr. will be chosen in Round 6 or so.
Gore Jr.’s size isn’t tantalizing — 5’7″ and 195 pounds — but he can be dynamic in an NFL team’s screen game, for example. So, if the Vikings get through five rounds or so and no new running backs live on the draft-haul ledger, keep an eye on Gore Jr.
Meanwhile, Christian McCaffrey’s brother, Luke, the son of Ed, is a wide receiver from Rice and is also in this draft class. He’s 6’2″ and 200 pounds and nearly tallied 1,000 receiving yards in 2023 to go along with 12 touchdowns.
For now, McCaffrey is expected to be drafted around Round 5, and some team’s fanbase will become convinced it has the next big thing via the McCaffrey bloodline.
Finally, Jerry Rice’s son, Brenden Rice, was a teammate of Jordan Addison and Caleb Willams at USC. Like his father, Brenden is a wide receiver, standing 6’3″ and weighing 210 pounds. He banked 644 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in his final season at USC, numbers enough to warrant mid-round draft stock as of early February. Every NFL team will hope to identify and draft “the next Puka Nacua” in April, and Rice feels like an obvious candidate due to his name. Like Nacua, Rice isn’t known for speed.
The NFL draft is 79 days away.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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