Vikings Helmet. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski).
Folks, we’re two days away from the 2024 NFL Draft, where the Minnesota Vikings will add about 8-9 players, probably headlined by a fancy new quarterback.
The Vikings have long-term roster needs at quarterback, interior defensive line, and interior offensive line, while cornerback or WR3 could also use some attention.
Earlier this week, we published regular draft predictions. You can read those here. These are the BOLD draft predictions, designed to be a bit outlandish. They’re ranked in no particular order.
Vikings fans have pondered the trade necessary to draft a rookie quarterback like Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy for two-plus months, and the internet claims the price is higher every day.
When the dust settles, Minnesota will either trade “only” three 1st-Rounders to the New England Patriots or negotiate a deal with a different team that is far cheaper than the internet poppycock from the last few weeks.
McCarthy could even fall to the 7th or 8th pick, making the trade really affordable — or to No. 11, where no trade is required.
Minnesota has nine draft picks during the draft: two on Friday night and seven on Saturday. That’s zero, for now, on Friday.
Adofo-Mensah will find a way to trade into Friday, hell or high water, and the Vikings will add a 2nd- or 3rd-Round pick. The man trades like a fiend.
Whether making a controversial pick on Texas’ D’Vondre Sweat, opting for Maason Smith (LSU), or sticking-and-picking a player like Byron Murphy II or Johnny Newton, the Vikings’ first non-quarterback pick is a DT.
Brian Flores’ defense needs beef in the middle of the defensive line, and we’ll realize that the purple team deprioritized DT in free agency because it loved someone in the draft.
Everyone used to call Rick Spielman the moniker Trader Rick, but Kwesi Adofo-Mensah actually trades significantly more than Spielman.
Adofo-Mensah will pull off the big quarterback trade and then at least two more thereafter. He’ll package his bonzana of Day 3 picks and move all over the damn board. Lock this one in — 3 to 5 trades from Thursday through Saturday.
It’s a little bold to exactly nail the pick, so let’s lock in Drake Maye to the Vikings, probably at pick No. 3 after a trade with the New England Patriots.
We firmly accept that the pick will be Maye or McCarthy, a choice that arose after Minnesota did trade business with Houston on March 15th. In the end, the pick will be Maye, as he best fits Kevin O’Connell’s offense.
Maye’s odds of becoming a Viking are around +500 right now, so no matter how you dice it, Mayennesota is a bold prediction.
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.