The 2024 Vikings Draft Class Inevitably Will Be Remembered for a Long Time
The 2024 NFL Draft rolled around last weekend with the widely held expectation that the Minnesota Vikings would have a big weekend.
Minnesota indeed fulfilled that expectation by not only successfully landing a potential QB of the future in J.J. McCarthy, but also making another move up the draft board to select Dallas Turner. As a result of the Vikings’ actions last weekend, the 2024 Vikings draft class inevitably will be remembered for a very long time.
The 2024 Vikings Draft Class Inevitably Will Be Remembered
Let’s start with the good reasons for this. Obviously, the hope is that McCarthy can become a franchise quarterback in Minnesota. He was the highest selected quarterback in franchise history by being picked 10th overall, surpassing Daunte Culpepper’s selection at No. 11 back in 1999.
Vikings QB draft picks have been snake-bitten with horrific injury luck (Culpepper, Teddy Bridgewater) as well as some really underwhelming results (Tarvaris Jackson, Christian Ponder, Kellen Mond). McCarthy can become the player to change the tides at the position.
Then, defensively, Turner can be viewed as a potential cornerstone for the Vikings defense over the next 5-10 years if things pan out. He was widely considered to be one of if not the best pass rusher in the 2024 draft class, so if he lives up to the hype, landing him at No. 17 will be a steal for the Vikings.
On the flip-side, though, this draft could be viewed in a sour fashion if things start to go off the rails. After all, the Vikings gave up a good chunk of draft capital in future years to land both McCarthy and Turner.
The Vikings are slated to only hold three picks in the 2025 NFL Draft (four if you count the projected compensatory pick for Kirk Cousins’ departure). They currently hold their own first-round pick as well as a pair of fifth-rounders.
If the selection of Turner were to not work out for whatever reason, Vikings fans will quickly turn to Minnesota’s trades that were made in order to bring him in, thus handcuffing their future. Meanwhile, failure from McCarthy will simply go down as the latest miss from the Vikings at the QB position.
Overall, this spring’s Vikings draft class certainly was a historic one for a number of reasons. If things work out, it will always be remembered as a Kwesi Adofo-Mensah masterclass. If it fails, it could go down as the reason Minnesota wasn’t able to take the final step in their “competitive rebuild.”
Regardless, it will go down as and be remembered as a very important one for the Vikings.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.
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