Purple Headlines of the Week: Everything You Need to Know Following a Historic Draft Weekend for the Vikings
Josh Frey
|
The 2024 NFL Draft is in the rearview mirror.
It was a very busy few days for not only the Minnesota Vikings, but each of the other 31 NFL teams as well. As we now head into the down period of the offseason, here is a look at all the purple headlines you need to know from what will go down as a historic weekend for the Vikings.
The 2024 Vikings Draft Class
The Minnesota Vikings made seven selections throughout the 2024 NFL Draft. Here is a look at each of them:
- R1, P10: QB J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
- R1, P17: EDGE Dallas Turner, Alabama
- R4, P108: CB Khyree Jackson, Oregon
- R6, P177: OL Walter Rouse, Oklahoma
- R6, P203: K Will Reichard, Alabama
- R7, P230: C Michael Jurgens, Wake Forest
- R7, P232: DL Levi Drake Rodriguez, Texas A&M-Commerce
The selection of McCarthy is obviously the most exciting one for the Vikings and for good reason. After Kirk Cousins left Minnesota in free agency, many were hoping that Minnesota would target their QB of the future in this draft class.
Not only did they do that, but the Vikings didn’t need to hand out a massive package of draft picks in order to make it happen. This allowed them to make another move up the draft board and grab more pass rush help in Dallas Turner later on in the first round.
Kwesi Shattered Draft Trends
The Minnesota Vikings have been around for a very long time. As a result, they’ve had a number of memorable draft classes throughout the history of their franchise for both good and bad reasons.
The 2024 NFL Draft will be particularly memorable for Vikings fans because of how different the process was from former drafts. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah took some of the old draft trends from Vikings history and put them in the shredder.
For the first time in franchise history, the Vikings landed a quarterback with a top 10 pick in a draft. On top of that, it was just the third time since 1967 that the Vikings made a pair of selections inside the top 20.
Of course, we need to see the results on the field in order to determine whether or not these were the right decisions, but it was an exciting and historic draft for Minnesota.
UDFA Additions
Following the draft, the Vikings completed deals for 17 undrafted free agents to fill out the remaining spots on their 90-man roster. Here is a look at each of those UDFA signings:
- OL Matt Cindric, California
- LB K.J. Cloyd, Miami (FL)
- OL Jeremy Flax, Kentucky
- LB Dallas Gant, Toledo
- WR Devron Harper, Mercer
- WR Ty James, Mercer
- WR Jeshaun Jones, Maryland
- TE Trey Knox, South Carolina
- DL Tyler Manoa, Arizona
- LB Donovan Manuel, FIU
- CB Dwight McGlothern, Arkansas
- OLB Gabriel Murphy, UCLA
- OL Doug Nester, West Virginia
- OLB Owen Porter, Marshall
- OLB Bo Richter, Air Force
- OL Spencer Rolland, North Carolina
- DL Taki Taimani, Oregon
In Case You Missed It…
Per usual, we have an additional list of reading material for the especially studious Vikings fans. Happy reading!
- Former Gopher Heads to the Big Apple
- The Vikings’ Post-Draft Depth Chart
- The Next Vikings Offseason Dates to Remember
- How J.J. McCarthy Impacts the Vikings Roster
The Vikings Once Again Landed One of the Top Undrafted Free Agents
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.