The 2024 NFL Draft has come to a close, and now the real chaos starts for teams and scouting departments: undrafted free agency. This is when teams fill out rosters as they head into rookie mini-camps. In ideal situations, teams are able to add depth pieces with high upside. History has shown us that even more can come from this part of the process for teams. Even more recently, teams have found productive players in UDFA classes throughout the league’s history. Players such as Terence Steele, Juwan Johnson, Reed Blankenship, and Minnesota’s own Ivan Pace Jr. were all undrafted in their class ..read more

The 2024 NFL Draft has come to a close and because of it we now have the ability to analyze the draft class as a whole. Not just for the Vikings of course, but for the entire NFC North. When you play in the NFC North you need to be aware of what everyone in the division is doing, especially in the NFL draft. Of course, the Chicago Bears made the biggest splash early by having two picks in the top ten. The Detroit Lions addressed some areas of need for their defense. The Green Bay Packers did what they usually do: add depth on offense and playmakers on defense. Rounding things out, your Minnes ..read more

The Minnesota Vikings have selected defensive lineman Levi Drake Rodriguez with the 232nd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. According to the analysis by Shane Halam of Draft Countdown, the first step for Levi Drake Rodriguez is his money-making trait. Everything else in his arsenal needs some work but he has the physical traits with some speed that caught the eye of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. To the benefit of Drake Rodriguez, he will have plenty of talented defensive linemen to work with. Harrison Phillips, Jonathan Greenard, and fellow draft classmate Dallas Turner. If he can pick up just one thi ..read more

The Minnesota Vikings have selected kicker Will Reichard out of Alabama with the 203rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Crimson Tide special teams ace is the NCAA all-time points leader with 547 in his career. He is expected to compete with John Parker Romo, who they signed in the offseason. Reichard had a PFF grade of 94.9 on field goals and extra points, which ranked fourth among college kickers. He was also impressive in that he made 295 out of 297 career extra points and showed he has a strong enough leg for longer kicks. He was able to make 10 out of 13 career kicks from 50 yards o ..read more

The Minnesota Vikings have selected Walter Rouse out of the University of Oklahoma with the 177th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Rouse has been a key offensive centerpiece for two schools’ lines and is one of the better pass-protecting tackles in all of college football. You may be asking, “If he is among the better pass-protecting tackles, why wasn’t he drafted sooner?” The film shows that he is a tad slow out of his set when the ball is snapped and the size and system raised some questions. Despite that, Rouse is a very experienced player and will provide a great depth addition to the V ..read more

The Minnesota Vikings with the 108th selection in the 2024 NFL Draft were able to get Khyree Jackson, a cornerback out of Oregon. The Vikings had a need at cornerback and they finally addressed it on day three in the NFL draft. Khyree Jackson played at Oregon in 2023, but he had previously played at Alabama and at East Mississippi State Community College. If the latter sounds familiar to you that is because it was the focus of the Netflix series Last Chance U. Jackson does very well playing with a physical style in press against opposing receivers. He also does a good job of staying with them ..read more

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The Minnesota Vikings came into the 2024 NFL draft determined to walk away with a quarterback, and they did just that. They did trade up to get him, but only one spot and were able to keep their second first-round pick in the process. All of that landed them former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Thanks to the rookie wage scale, the process of getting rookie draft picks under contract has become much more streamlined and quick than it was in year’s past. For being the 10th pick in the draft, McCarthy is going to get a 4-year deal with a team option for the fifth. Projected cap hits for JJ ..read more

The Minnesota Vikings were sweating on Thursday during round one of the 2024 NFL Draft. They watched as quarterbacks made up four of the first eight picks, leaving the team scrambling as they knew the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders were behind them. It left only one choice: to trade up just one spot to number ten to get their guy, J.J. McCarthy. The former Michigan quarterback had plenty of fans in Minneapolis within the Vikings facility, but around the league, he now has allies. The biggest is Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, a former Michigan coach. Harbaugh hasn’t been sh ..read more

The Minnesota Vikings landed their franchise quarterback in the form of J.J. McCarthy out of Michigan. Everyone was impressed with what GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was able to do by letting him fall into their lap. The whole process caught the eye of everyone, including a future hall of fame coach. During the Pat MacAfee Show’s NFL Draft Show, Bill Belichick was the “lead analyst.” It all came together after the Super Bowl-winning coach mentioned during an appearance on their show that he was still scouting players despite not being on a sideline in 2024. Belichick was familiar with the Vikings quar ..read more