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The Minnesota Vikings were one of the surprise stories of the 2024 NFL season since they were expected to battle the Chicago Bears for third place in the NFC North. Instead of fighting to stay out of the division’s cellar, the Vikings battled the Detroit Lions for the division title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff structure. The Vikings ended up in second place in the division, but head coach Kevin O’Connell’s team finished with an eye-catching 14-3 regular-season record.
Despite that record of achievement, the Vikings were hit with a major insult by NFL.com for their performance in the 2024 NFL Draft. According to the high-profile website, the Vikings ranked 31st out of the NFL’s 32 teams. The only team ranked behind the Vikings is the Cleveland Browns.
The Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers were given the top three spots in the rankings.
The Vikings did not have much production from their rookie class, but there are significant — and tragic — circumstances that impacted the level of achievement from their draft choices.
The most obvious issue came with their initial first-round draft pick. The Vikings selected quarterback J.J. McCarthy of Michigan with the No. 10 pick overall. McCarthy was coming off a national championship season with the Wolverines, and he was expected to become the Vikings’ QB1 at some point in the first half of the season. However, McCarthy tore his meniscus in Minnesota’s first preseason game and was out for the season.
The Vikings selected OLB Dallas Turner with the No. 17 pick of the first round. He did not start a single game for defensive coordinator Brian Flores, and he did not become an impact player when he was inserted into the lineup. He finished the season with 20 tackles and 3.0 sacks.
Minnesota did not have another selection until the fourth round, and Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell thought they had a potential gem in Oregon cornerback Khyree Jackson. After impressing the Vikings in rookie minicamp, Jackson was killed in a car accident. He was the passenger in a car that was struck by another vehicle that was changing lanes at a high speed.
While late-round draft choices OT Walter Rouse, OL Michael Jurges and DT Levi Drake Rodriguez were not productive, sixth-round selection Will Reichard had an impressive season as Minnesota’s placekicker.
Reichard connected on 24 of 30 field goal attempts, including a long of 58 yards. He also made all 38 of his extra point attempts. The Vikings appear to have solved their long-standing kicking problems with the selection of Reichard.
Downgrading the Vikings because of the McCarthy injury and Jackson’s tragic death seems a bit harsh, but it’s clear that the team overcame those issues during their successful regular season.
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