The Vikings’ Strange Draft Detail
Take a look under the hood and you may notice the Vikings’ strange draft detail.
From April 25th to 27th, the Vikings participated in the 2024 NFL Draft alongside 31 other teams. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah pulled seven players out of the event, tossing a trio over to offense, a trio over to defense, and then a single player over to special teams. Within those moves, only one player — corner Khyree Jackson, chosen at No. 108 — got picked with one of Minnesota’s organic picks.
The Vikings’ Strange Draft Detail
Right off the top, a quick recap. Minnesota stepped away from the draft with these players:
- RD1, No. 10 — J.J. McCarthy, Quarterback
- RD1, No. 17 — Dallas Turner, Edge Rusher
- RD4, No. 108 — Khyree Jackson, Corner
- RD6, No. 177 — Walter Rouse, Offensive Tackle
- RD6, No. 203 — Will Reichard, Kicker
- RD7, No. 230 — Michael Jurgens, Center/Guard
- RD7, No. 232 — Levi Drake Rodriguez, Defensive Tackle
Consider the journey of each one of those draft picks. No, not the players, the actual picks. Take a look at where they began before getting used by the Vikings:
- RD1, No. 10 — New York (Jets), Minnesota
- RD1, No. 17 — Jacksonville, Minnesota
- RD4, No. 108 — Minnesota
- RD6, No. 177 — Carolina, Jacksonville, Minnesota
- RD6, No. 203 — Houston, Cleveland, Denver, New York (Jets), Minnesota
- RD7, No. 230 — Atlanta, Cleveland, Arizona, Minnesota
- RD7, No. 232 — Denver, San Francisco, Houston, Minnesota
The list reveals that the picks picked up a lot of air miles before getting used on a player rather than being used as a piece within a trade.
More often than not, the pick that the Vikings used on a player is one that originally belonged to a different team. Toward the top, there is just the single changing of hands. The Jets sent their No. 10 pick to the Vikings; the Jaguars sent their No. 17 pick to the Vikings. Easy and straightforward.
Further down, though, is when things get a bit more complex. GMs have an easier time parting with a 6th or a 7th than they do a 1st or a 2nd.
Just the three picks from 200 onward — Reichard at 203, Jurgens at 230, and Rodriguez at 232 — featured ten teams having their hands on those selections before Minnesota actually cashed them in on real players.
Khyree Jackson stands out as the lone player arriving through a draft choice originally owned by the Vikings.
In the end, those tiny details don’t matter too much. What matters far more is how a player performs, not the process behind how individual selections arrived in the Twin Cities. The point is simply to underscore how commonly Adofo-Mensah has been trading since taking over as the Vikings’ GM.
Editor’s Note: Shout out to the NFL for tracking the trade details behind each pick.
As a Pair, Can Jefferson and Addison Clear 3,000 Yards?
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.